The transfer of primary school teachers to a 5-day work schedule was in the hands of the ministry, but...

In Uzbekistan, the issue of transitioning schools to a 5-day system is still on the agenda. Many articles on this topic have also been published in the mass media.

In particular, Kun.uz was interested in the opinion of teachers and representatives of the public about the 5-day lesson system. However, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education, which should be among the first to comment on this topic, remains silent for now.

There was an opportunity to switch primary school teachers to a 5-day work schedule

As is known, the duration of the academic week for grades I-IV can be set at 5 days by decision of the pedagogical council. Therefore, at present, Saturday is not considered a school day for primary school students in Uzbekistan.

However, according to the Ministry of Public Education's 2020 Regulation "On Methodological Associations of General Secondary Education Schools," Saturday was designated as a methodological day for primary school teachers. That is, primary school teachers had to come to work even though they didn't have classes on Saturdays.

Two years later, by order No. 372 of the former Minister of Public Education Bakhtiyor Saidov dated December 5, 2022, both the methodological days of teachers and the procedure for conducting subject months were officially abolished.

Since methodological days for teaching staff were officially canceled, there was an opportunity for primary school teachers to designate Saturday as a day off, but the ministry didn't even try to do so, or rather, it seems it didn't want to.

The Ministry of Preschool and School Education, instead of making it easier for primary school teachers, reintroduced methodological days as "Professional Development Days" and designated Saturday as "Professional Development Day" for primary school teachers.

That is, according to the new procedure approved by the Ministry's order No. 246 dated August 7, 2024, it has been clearly established that the failure of a teacher to participate in the "Professional Development Day" and "Professional Development Hour" events will be recorded as non-appearance on this day, and if they do not come to work, wages will not be paid.

After this, our last hopes for establishing Saturday as a day off for primary school teachers were dashed. In fact, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education could have at least designated Saturday as a day off for primary school teachers.

Primary school teachers work with young children, which requires great patience, attention, and endurance of continuous mental stress. Therefore, they are more tired than other categories of teachers and may experience stressful situations more often.

If Saturday were designated as a day off, it would be a great relief for their mental health. Taking more days off per week helps reduce stress levels in teachers. It also allows teachers to spend meaningful time with their families and children. This positively affects the effectiveness of the teacher's work, the quality of lessons, and most importantly, the results of students.

In general, the introduction of Saturday as a day off, primarily for primary school teachers, could be a practically important experimental process for the ministry. Through this experiment, the relationship between real changes in the system, the mental state of teachers, and the quality of the lesson was analyzed, and then this procedure could be gradually applied to high school teachers.

Indeed, if we want to develop the education system, we must also create conditions for teachers to have adequate rest.