Now some psychologists will also need to obtain professional certificates

By the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 87 dated February 2, 2024, and the Order of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education No. 51 dated February 22, 2024, a requirement was established for pedagogical staff of general secondary education organizations who do not have the appropriate category to obtain a professional certificate.

A professional certificate is a state-issued document with a QR code, issued for an unlimited period, granting the right to engage in pedagogical activity to an individual who has successfully passed the control test.

Previously, the requirement to obtain a professional certificate was applied to trainee teachers who were newly hired at the school. Now, even newly hired or uncertified psychologists will need to obtain a professional certificate.

By the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated November 24, 2025, No. 740 "On Amendments and Recognition as Invalid of Certain Decisions of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan," amendments were made to the "Administrative Regulations for the Provision of Public Services for Professional Certification of Teaching Staff of State General Secondary Education Organizations," approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated February 12, 2024, No. 87.

According to it, trainee teachers and trainee educators, as well as psychologists, are hired for a period of one year, and upon completion of the period, an employment contract is concluded in the prescribed manner as a teacher or, accordingly, as a psychologist-educator only with teachers who have received a professional certificate or participated in an extraordinary attestation of pedagogical personnel and have achieved an indicator at least at the level where the position of specialist (teacher with higher education) is retained.

At the same time, starting from 2026, psychologists hired for the position of psychologist for the first time, and starting from 2027, psychologists who failed the certification of teachers, were recognized as unfit for the position, will also be involved in professional certification tests.

In what order are professional certification tests conducted?

The control test for obtaining a professional certificate is conducted, as a rule, annually in March-May. Professional certification is conducted in the form of a control test on a computer (online platform).

The control test consists of 50 tasks, each correctly completed task is evaluated with 2 points, and a total of 100 points are awarded for the control test. An applicant who scores 56 points or more based on the results of the control test is considered to have passed the control test. An applicant who scores less than 56 points is considered not to have passed the control test.

What happens if the applicant does not receive a professional certificate?

For applicants who participated in the control test for the first time and did not pass it, an extraordinary control test is organized annually before the start of the new academic year.

An employment contract with an applicant who participated in an unscheduled control test and did not score enough points is terminated in the manner prescribed by labor legislation.

The employer, in turn, sends a complaint (objection) to the higher educational institution where the applicant, whose employment contract has been terminated, about the applicant's failure to pass professional certification.

Who is not involved in professional certification?

Specialists with a Master's degree, a Candidate of Sciences degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree, as well as teaching staff holding the academic title of Senior Research Fellow, Associate Professor, and Professor, awarded by the Higher Attestation Commission, are not subject to professional certification.

Who is exempt from professional certification for a certain period?

• pregnant women, women on maternity leave, during their vacation and for one year after their release to work;

• women with children under the age of three (up to the age of three), engaged in pedagogical activity;

• pedagogical personnel undergoing long-term (more than three months) treatment, during the period of their treatment and for six months after their release to work;

• pedagogical personnel sent to study, retraining, and advanced training courses in the republic and abroad for a period of three months or more are exempt from professional certification for a certain period of six months after their employment.