Education

The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the civil war that ended in 1997 brought enduring repercussions to the integrity of Tajikistan’s education system. Over the past three decades, the Tajik government has been working with donors and partners to rebuild the system critical for the country’s long-term sustainable development. The Ministry of Education and Science continues to collaborate with USAID to strengthen the reforms of the education system in order to improve literacy and numeracy learning outcomes. Education in Tajikistan is moving from a teacher to a student-centered approach, using hybrid models on competency-based approaches, maintaining transparent assessment, and using digital teacher training platforms. 

USAID education programs in Tajikistan support updating curriculum standards with modernized guidelines, methods, and training based on internationally recognized best practices. USAID developed the technical skillset of the Ministry of Education and its counterparts to champion and institutionalize modernized in-service and pre-service curriculum for primary education. The programs also bring U.S. leadership and influence through professional development, student-centered learning, data-driven decision-making particularly in the use of assessments, instructional practices, and age-appropriate teaching and learning materials. 

USAID’s basic education programs align with the Tajik Government’s National Strategy for Education Development 2021-2030 to support the country in taking control of its own resources meant to improve learning outcomes, and leveraging its resources to advance on the path of sustainability. 

RESULTS:

• USAID Early Grade Reading Assessment data used by the Ministry for policy planning and budgeting purposes in the new National Strategy for Education Development 2021-2030.

• USAID created over 166 TV episodes for primary students that featured project-developed books and introduced the Tajik alphabet to students, available to over 2 million viewers nationwide.

• USAID provided school-based summer camps to reinforce reading skills developed during the academic year in which 5,072 students participated.

• USAID donated over 768,000 age-appropriate children’s books in Tajik and Russian languages to 3,001 schools from 2018-2020.

• USAID project-developed training enhanced the skills of 28,414 primary teachers in the teaching of modern reading techniques and practices, reaching over 665,826 students.

• USAID trained 2,637 principals and 2,546 school librarians to support teachers, make school libraries operate efficiently, and increase parent involvement to improve students’ reading.

• USAID developed the mobile application “Feed Me” to support Tajik language acquisition for early readers and serve as a useful reinforcement tool for children who are learning Tajik as a second language as it emphasizes correct pronunciation of letters and sounds. Over 7,000 users downloaded the app.