Is the amount of material assistance limited or not? - The Ministry official commented.

On March 6 of this year, an article was published on xalqtaliminfo.uz under the headline "Limit on the amount of material assistance provided to teachers." After that, an official of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education contacted xalqtaliminfo.uz and expressed his dissatisfaction with the incorrect interpretation of the situation.

"Nothing has changed, even in the previous procedure, it was possible to provide material assistance to a pedagogical worker up to the amount of his two official salaries during the calendar year, and now nothing has changed, only the procedure for providing material assistance has been clarified," the ministry official said.

So, what changes have occurred regarding the procedure for providing material assistance?

When it comes to economic issues, even a single word or sentence can solve enormous things. Therefore, we will read the text of the resolution and try to comment on the changes that have occurred in the procedure for providing material assistance to teachers.

Clause 33 of the Regulation, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated September 30, 2019 No. 823, provided for:

"Material assistance to employees of general education institutions is provided during the calendar year in the amount of up to two official salaries (teacher's tariff rate) in the event of the death of the employee himself and close relatives (father, mother, spouse, child), serious illness, or damage from a natural disaster."

By the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated February 28, 2025, No. 130, the above paragraph was amended as follows:

"Material assistance to employees of general education institutions is provided in the event of the death of the employee himself or a close relative (father, mother, spouse, child), serious illness, or damage from a natural disaster.

In this case, the total amount of material assistance paid to one employee during the calendar year is not allowed to exceed twice the amount of his official salary (teacher's tariff rate).

In the new version of the provision of material assistance, the words "or," "per employee," "total amount" have been added to this clause, making it clear that the amount of official salary for pedagogical workers during the calendar year cannot be increased by more than two times.

Is this a limitation, or has nothing really changed?

True, at first glance, when we read the old and new versions of the procedure for providing material assistance to teachers, it seems natural that nothing has changed. Let's compare it with the actual situation and analyze in detail what has changed.

According to the previous procedure for providing material assistance to teachers, let's say an employee (during a calendar year) fell seriously ill and received material assistance up to two official salaries.

Not long after, one of the close relatives of the same employee died. Now, in this case, the employee could be paid material assistance in the amount of up to two official salaries.

Because in the old version of financial assistance, it was established that it would be provided in the event of the death of the employee himself and close relatives (father, mother, spouse, child), serious illness, or damage from a natural disaster.

To put it more simply, in the old version of material assistance, even if an employee was provided with material assistance in this manner during the calendar year, no one could prove that these funds were incorrectly allocated. Because in the old version, there was an opportunity to provide financial assistance through such means.

The new version of the procedure for providing material assistance to teachers has put an end to the above-mentioned situations. Therefore, from now on, the total amount of material assistance paid to one employee during the calendar year cannot exceed twice the amount of his official salary (teacher's tariff rate).

That is, if an employee falls seriously ill during the calendar year, and one of the close relatives of the same employee dies or falls seriously ill during the same calendar year, then it is not possible to pay the employee financial assistance a second time. (If the employee was provided with material assistance in the amount of up to two full official salaries.)

The reason is that, as noted above, the words "per employee," "total amount" have been included in the text on the procedure for providing material assistance.

In general, the new version set a clear limit on the total annual amount of material assistance, which indicates the presence of limitations compared to the previous procedure. If previously a pedagogical worker could receive material assistance several times for various reasons, now it has been clearly established that the total amount cannot exceed two official salaries.