How much is allocated per student per year?

This article analyzes annual expenditures allocated from the state budget per student, the differences between public and private schools, the average annual expenditures of private schools, as well as the special conditions created for Presidential, creative and specialized schools, and the multiple-increasing inequality in the public education system.

How much the state allocates per student depends on various aspects of the education system, including the country's economic situation, the availability of strategies and resources aimed at improving the quality of education.

Funds allocated to a student typically include educational expenses, including teacher salaries, educational materials, infrastructure maintenance, and other expenses necessary for the development of the learning process.

For example, in the calculation of government expenditures on education in Uzbekistan, the costs of a student's education for a year are considered, mainly funds allocated for teacher training, providing students with textbooks and teaching aids, wages and other equivalent payments, full provision of schools with clean drinking water and modern sanitary and hygienic infrastructure, and the creation of new student places.

In 2025, total spending on secondary education is projected to reach 54 trillion soums, or 15.7 percent of the total State budget expenditure, with an increase of 22.9 percent compared to the expected performance in 2024. These expenses are mainly directed to provide quality education to about 6 million 772 thousand 6 students in more than 10 thousand general secondary educational organizations (by 207 thousand more than last academic year).

Based on these amounts, when calculating the annual expenses of one student, we can see that approximately 8 million (7,974,400) soums are allocated from the state budget per student per year.

According to the information provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the amount allocated to public schools per student is increasing every year. At the same time, the annual expenses of one student amounted to 5,300,000 soums in 2022, 6,300,000 soums in 2023, and 6,900,000 soums in 2024. By 2025, it is projected to increase this amount to about 8 million soums.

The average monthly fee for private schools is allocated for one year for public schools

Currently, the average monthly fee for one student of private schools is 5 million (5,292,903) soums, and the annual fee is about 50 million (47,636,127) soums.

Of course, the aforementioned prices are not fixed and vary depending on the specific conditions of the school and the type of services provided. For example, some private schools may have higher cost of education because they offer additional services (e.g. in-depth foreign language learning, special programs, sports or arts classes) or better opportunities.

Therefore, the cost of quality education can vary significantly depending on the school. For example, the monthly fee for the international private school "Canadian International School" is 18 million soums, and the annual fee is 162 million soums.

How much does the state spend per year on students of presidential, creative and specialized schools?

Currently, there are 14 Presidential schools, 9 creative schools, and 182 specialized schools in Uzbekistan. According to the official website of the Agency for Specialized Educational Institutions, there are currently 2,352 students in Presidential schools, 1,849 students in creative schools, and 67,454 students in specialized schools.

Such educational institutions, unlike private schools, are allocated a very large amount of funds annually from the state budget. However, the draft Law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2025" and the Budget Notice do not reveal how much funds will be allocated to the Agency for Specialized Educational Institutions. The reason is that the Agency is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education.

Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to accurately calculate the annual expenses of one student attending Presidential, creative, and specialized schools. Since each of these schools is financed in different directions, it is difficult to fully and reliably analyze costs by collecting them from open sources. Accurate financial data or reports on the distribution of government funds are needed for such calculations. This way, it is possible to determine the total cost per student.

However, by comparing the funds allocated to Presidential, creative, and specialized schools with other expenditures allocated to the Ministry of Preschool and School Education, one can analyze the specific aspects of the funds spent on these educational institutions.

For example, in 2022, the former Agency for Presidential Educational Institutions was allocated 622 billion 335 million soums, which corresponds to the total amount of funds allocated to the development programs of the Ministry of Public Education, which has more than 10 thousand educational institutions and more than 6 million students in its system in 2022, capital investments for the design, construction (reconstruction) and equipment of facilities, the Fund for Supporting Reforms in the Field of Public Education.

For comparison, in 2023, the Ministry of Public Education, which has 10,322 educational institutions, was allocated a total of 300 billion soums for the design, construction (reconstruction) and equipment of facilities.

As a general conclusion, the funds allocated to public schools are much lower than those allocated to private schools. Specifically, the annual costs for students studying in the same country are equal to the average monthly fee for a private school, meaning that the differences in the quality of education in Uzbekistan are multiplying.

The extremely high allocation of funds for presidential, creative, and specialized schools shows that there is growing inequality between private and public educational institutions, as well as in the public education system.

This could limit the access of every student to quality education in Uzbekistan. As a result, children living in economically disadvantaged families may be deprived of quality education. Because it is no secret that for education in Presidential, creative and specialized schools, children are being trained in separate additional classes and tutors at the expense of certain funds.