In Uzbekistan, the discussion of the draft law “On the status of the pedagogue employee” was revived.

On May 1, the project was discussed and approved by the faction of the “Milliy Tiklanish” and “Adolat” parties in the Legislative Chamber.

Deputies believe that with the adoption of this bill, the influence of teachers in society will increase.

The norms included in the draft law, disclosed so far, are as follows:

• The teacher is exempted from paying the state duty when he appeals to the court about the protection of his honor and dignity and the actions of officials.
• It is forbidden to involve the teaching staff in work, meetings and other events that are not related to their duties and professional activities.
• A teacher-mentor is assigned to a person who is starting a professional activity for the first time for one academic year.
• Pedagogical staff working in state educational organizations undergo mandatory medical examination free of charge in state health institutions.
• Pedagogical staff are vaccinated against infectious diseases free of charge during their professional activities.

In November 2020, the version of the draft law “On the status of the teaching staff” which was released for public discussion, also included the following proposals:

• to grant the right to receive a preferential pension to a pedagogue employee reduced by 5 years from the generally established age;
• exemption from income tax of the funds allocated by the pedagogue employee from his monthly salary for the purchase of housing and motor vehicle;
• to provide a pedagogic employee with an annual paid extended leave of 56 working days, as well as financial assistance for health recovery in the amount of the basic position salary once a calendar year when the leave is granted;
• setting the minimum amount of the basic salary of a pedagogue employee and introducing a system of bonus payment for many years of service;
• admission of teaching staff who do not have higher education, but have at least 5 years of work experience in educational organizations, to study in HEIs in the field of pedagogy on a preferential basis.

It is not yet known whether these proposals, which were in the original draft, are in the draft currently being debated in parliament.

It should be noted that mandatory medical examination is not a special privilege for teachers: according to Article 292 of the Labor Code, the employer is responsible for compensating the expenses related to mandatory medical examination of an employee in any field. Forced labor is also already prohibited by the Labor Code and the Constitution.

It is noteworthy that it took the government 2.5 years to submit the draft law to the parliament. In February 2022, Kun.uz asked then Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov for an explanation about the fact that this project was not introduced to the parliament even though so much time had passed.

“It is in the Cabinet of Ministers. Here’s another problem with collateral, money. As you know, a lot of attention is being paid to increasing the salaries of pedagogues. Therefore, each additional attention to this area requires funds. 500,000 teachers work, and the issue is being considered by the Cabinet of Ministers as it is related to money,” the head of justice said then.

As Kun.uz wrote earlier, according to the 2022 state program, specific steps should be taken to increase the salaries of high-class teachers to one thousand dollars. The deadline for this is September 2022. But no document or draft document has been published in this regard. For information, the percentage of high-quality teachers working in schools is a small percentage (up to about 5% of the total number of teachers).

Official statistics also confirm that the salaries of teachers and doctors are the lowest compared to other professions.

At the same time, cases of forcing them to work outside of their professional duties are also common. In March 2023, a new law was adopted, which strengthened the responsibility. Now the involvement of pedagogues in forced labor will result in a fine from 33 million to 49.5 million soums (100-150 BCAs). If the same act is committed after the application of an administrative penalty, it will be prosecuted and the punishment will be a fine of 49.5 million to 66 million soums (150-200 BCAs) or deprivation of certain rights for up to 3 years or correctional work for up to 3 years.

The administrative liability of an educational organization for unlawfully interfering with the professional activity of a pedagogue or preventing him from performing his official duties has also been strengthened. Now, citizens are fined from 2.3 million to 5 million soums (7-10 BCAs), and officials are fined from 3.3 million to 6.6 million soums (10-15 BCAs) for this act. Officials who repeatedly commit this act within 1 year will be fined from 5 million to 6.6 million soums (15-20 BCAs) or will be imprisoned for up to 15 days.

Also, a new article about teachers was added to the newly revised Constitution, which came into force on May 1, 2023. It consists of two clauses as follows:

• In the Republic of Uzbekistan, the teacher’s work is recognized as the basis for the development of society and the state, the formation and upbringing of a healthy, mature generation, the preservation and enrichment of the nation’s spiritual and cultural potential.
• The state takes care of protecting the honor and dignity of teachers, their social and material well-being, and professional growth.