Are schools in Surkhandarya returning to paperwork again?

On January 29, 2026, a working group was created under the khokimiyat of Surkhandarya region to study the activities of general education schools in the region. The document, signed by the head of the regional administration's secretariat, clearly defines the composition of the working group, the areas to be studied, and the deadlines.

The working group includes employees of universities, the Youth Union, and the regional department of vocational education.

The official document notes that the main task of the working group is a comprehensive study of the activities of students and teachers in general education schools. In particular, the document provides for checking the state of students' use of mobile communication devices in schools, teachers' preparation for classes, the assessment process, document management, educational work, and the activities of clubs.

However, based on this document, the process of demanding unnecessary documents, additional information, and reports from teachers in schools has begun.

What is the working group studying?

In the questionnaires and assignments attached, the working group also listed issues that contradict the legislation. Including:

• correspondence of grades in electronic and paper diaries when assessing students;

• the status of teachers' synopsis writing, maintaining class registers;

• organization of clubs, their documentation and student enrollment;

• the procedure for maintaining the records of the school director and his deputies.

Interestingly, although the procedure for keeping paper journals and diaries, writing notes by teachers, has been abolished, and currently it is forbidden to require such documents from teachers, the regional khokimiyat's inquiry notes that the state of execution of orders by managers will be studied.

What does the legislation say about this?

In recent years, the issue of freeing teachers from excessive paperwork in the education system has been elevated to the level of state policy. Therefore, when assessing the current situation, it is important to recall the current regulatory legal acts.

According to Article 5 of the Law on the Status of a Teacher, interference in the professional activities of a teacher, unjustified inspections of their activities, and the requirement of reports and other information not related to their professional duties are prohibited.

By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated August 14, 2018 No. PP-3907, it is strictly prohibited to require school teachers to submit reports and additional information on other pedagogical workloads, except for the organization of lessons and club activities, as well as maintaining a class register.

Also, on June 29, 2020, based on a joint decision of the Ministry of Public Education and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, the "Instruction on the procedure for the formation of a standard annual work plan for pedagogical specialties of general secondary educational institutions" was registered with the Ministry of Justice under No. 3058-I.

In accordance with this instruction, the maintenance of the annual calendar-thematic plan and daily lesson plans (notes) by teachers of general education schools has been canceled, and only the maintenance of the class register has been established.

When calculating the workload of pedagogical staff, the educational process and work related to the methodological support of the educational process and the organizational and pedagogical process are taken into account.

The educational process refers to the teaching hours allocated to pedagogical staff according to tariffs. Control over the quality of its implementation is carried out by the director of the general secondary educational institution and his deputy for educational work.

Methodological support of the educational process and the organizational-pedagogical process includes extracurricular activities related to improving the quality of education, strengthening students' knowledge, raising their spirituality, and meaningful organization of their free time.

For the methodological support of the educational process and the implementation of the established measures of the organizational and pedagogical process, no reporting is required from pedagogical workers, and time-based accounting of the implementation of the measures is not maintained.