31 August 2026, Dushanbe
Dear compatriots!
Dear workers in the field of education!
Dear pupils, students and teachers!
These days, we are approaching the great national holiday — the 35th anniversary of the State Independence of our beloved Tajikistan.
In this regard, I sincerely congratulate all of you on this great historic holiday, as well as on the beginning of the new academic year and Knowledge Day.
I also congratulate the children who this year are joyfully and enthusiastically crossing the threshold of school for the first time, and wish them health and happiness.
I would like to remind you that it is precisely thanks to independence, lasting peace and stability in our country that we are carrying out large-scale work to create the best possible conditions for education, improve the level and quality of education, and provide proper upbringing for children, adolescents and young people.
The opening of the new modern building of Secondary General Education School No. 105, where we are gathered today, is a result of State Independence and the peaceful and stable atmosphere in our country.
This institution was built by the Executive Body of State Authority of Dushanbe in accordance with a modern project and is designed for 2,400 pupils, for whom the best conditions and opportunities for education and upbringing have been created.
It should be noted that over the past nine years, 55 new educational institutions with more than 95,000 student places, as well as 42 modern kindergartens designed for 8,000 children, have been built and commissioned in Dushanbe.
This year alone, in honour of the 35th anniversary of State Independence, seven new educational institutions with 10,000 student places and eight new modern preschool institutions for 1,000 children will begin operating in the capital.
In total, during the years of independence, 4,135 educational institution buildings with 1.8 million student places have been built and commissioned in the country, with a total cost of 8.4 billion somoni.
One of the most encouraging developments during the period of the country's independence is that the noble people of Tajikistan, including entrepreneurs who possess a sense of honour and dignity, have established fruitful cooperation with the Government in the noble cause of constructing new educational institutions equipped with modern facilities. For this, we express our gratitude to them for their patriotic commitment.
Dear attendees!
All our achievements in the development and improvement of our beloved Motherland, including in the field of education, which creates the future of the nation and the state, are the result of State Independence, lasting political peace and stability, as well as unbreakable national unity.
Therefore, for us — the people of Tajikistan — peace and unity are the most important factors for the sustainable existence of the state and nation.
For this reason, preserving and valuing peace and stability, strengthening national unity, and educating young people in the spirit of patriotism and humanism are the sacred duties of every conscious and sensible citizen of the country.
The adoption in June this year, at the initiative of Tajikistan, of the United Nations resolution on the “Decade of Strengthening Peace for Future Generations” is also evidence of our country's consistent efforts to preserve peace and tranquillity on the planet.
With satisfaction and pride, I would like to emphasize that the work of teachers and education-sector employees in strengthening State Independence, promoting the ideas of national statehood, guiding the people toward strengthening peace and unity, and providing worthy education and upbringing to the generation of the independence period is highly significant and deserves great appreciation and gratitude.
Education-sector workers, during an extremely difficult and contradictory period in the history of the Tajik state, once again proved that reason and wisdom, science and knowledge, patience and tolerance, as well as the pursuit of peace and stability, play a key role in overcoming any crises, illuminating and paving the way toward a happy future.
I have repeatedly stated, and I emphasize once again, that independence and freedom, peace and tranquillity are the most sacred blessings and greatest achievements of our people, a source of pride and patriotic dignity, a symbol of the nation's existence, and a condition for the happiness and dignified life of all residents of Tajikistan.
State Independence preserved the existence of the Tajik people on the international stage, restored historical justice, and presented Tajiks to the world as a cultural and civilization-building nation distinguished by tolerance and a commitment to peace.
Dear attendees!
Since ancient times, our people have regarded science, enlightenment and books as the light of life, the foundation of statehood and the source of social progress.
For thousands of years, outstanding representatives of the Tajik people, through the power of reason, science and knowledge, have made a significant contribution to the development of human civilization.
Possessing knowledge and education, especially in our time, characterized by an unprecedented stage of technological development and improvement, as well as the widespread use of artificial intelligence, has acquired particular importance.
Under these conditions, the main wealth of states is considered to be not only natural resources, but also educated people, enlightened youth and highly qualified specialists.
Therefore, it is extremely important that our younger and rising generation constantly show interest in studying science and acquiring knowledge, continue learning throughout their lives and, on this basis, engage in creativity and innovation.
For this purpose, all the necessary conditions and opportunities have been created in our country today.
The Government of Tajikistan has identified science and education as one of the priority areas of state policy.
This is because we clearly understand that investments in the education and upbringing of children are investments in the future of the nation and the state.
In this regard, over the years of independence, more than 70 billion somoni have been allocated from the state budget to the education sector, while 10 billion somoni have been provided through state investment projects. These figures clearly demonstrate the special and continuous attention devoted to education.
Dear attendees!
It is well known that the first stage of children's education and upbringing is associated with preschool institutions.
In other words, the education and upbringing of children in preschool institutions is an important stage for their future.
Several years ago, therefore, I instructed the relevant structures and authorities to take measures to build kindergartens in every residential area whose population exceeds one hundred people.
This is a very important issue, and we need to do even more work in this direction.
The Government has approved the Programme for the Development of Preschool Institutions and Private General Education for 2022–2027, which represents a firm step toward expanding opportunities for increasing children's access to education.
Therefore, I once again remind the heads of regions, cities and districts, the Ministry of Education and Science, and other relevant bodies of the need to pay greater attention to the construction of preschool institutions.
Available opportunities must be directed toward fully implementing the requirements of the National Education Development Strategy until 2030, the aforementioned programme, and increasing the coverage of children with preschool education to 50 percent.
In addition, the necessary measures must be taken to provide preschool institutions with highly qualified personnel who meet modern requirements.
It should be remembered that the higher the level of organization and quality of upbringing in kindergartens, the more productive the subsequent education of our children in general secondary education institutions will be.
During meetings with education-sector workers and in my other speeches, I have repeatedly emphasized that the quality of education and upbringing in general secondary and higher professional education institutions requires further improvement.
It should be said that significant work has been carried out in recent years at the level of general secondary education.
In particular, the introduction of unified standards determining the quality of education is continuing, newly constructed educational institutions are being provided with teaching staff, the use of digital technologies is expanding, and the level of pupils' knowledge is gradually increasing.
We must keep pace with the times, organize the study and use of modern technologies at a high level, and always remember that only on the basis of an active, comprehensive and advanced education system will we be able to occupy a worthy place in the modern world.
To consistently improve the quality of education, it is extremely important to pay attention to key issues, including improving teachers' professional skills, introducing advanced and effective methods of upbringing, preparing and publishing educational materials and new-generation textbooks, as well as equipping classrooms and laboratories with modern technologies.
Another essential task is the systematic organization of professional development and retraining courses for teachers.
On 1 September 2024, during my visit to educational facilities in Dushanbe and participation in events dedicated to Knowledge Day, I emphasized the need to take appropriate measures to fully provide general education institutions within two years with textbooks, supplementary educational and scientific literature, methodological materials, teachers' guides and teaching methodologies for every subject.
The analysis shows that a number of measures have been implemented in accordance with this instruction.
In particular, from the beginning of 2025 to the present, 9,215,000 copies of textbooks and educational materials have been supplied to education departments and institutions of cities and districts, as well as other educational institutions. This process is continuing consistently.
To provide educational institutions with textbooks and other educational materials in the 2026–2027 academic year, 40 textbook titles have passed the competitive selection process. Their publication is being carried out in stages, and they are already being distributed to pupils of educational institutions.
In other words, today educational institutions are not experiencing problems related to a shortage of textbooks.
Now greater attention must be paid to the quality of textbooks and bringing them into line with international standards.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education and Science is instructed to continuously take measures to further improve the quality and content of new-generation textbooks.
Now I would like to emphasize another important issue.
The introduction of any system, approach or international experience into the educational process must, first and foremost, be comprehensively tested in educational institutions, adapted to the conditions, strategic objectives of Tajikistan's education development and national values, and only then applied in practice.
In this regard, we must first pay serious attention to the development of scientific research in the fields of pedagogical and psychological sciences, as well as to involving scholars and teachers who possess advanced experience in these areas.
For this purpose, it is necessary to intensify the scientific research activities of the Academy of Education, the Institute for Education Development and higher education institutions specializing in teacher education in developing and introducing innovative methods, approaches and teaching technologies, especially in natural sciences and mathematics, using advanced international experience.
In this process, the Republican Institute for Advanced Training and Retraining of Education Workers needs to pay greater attention to improving the qualifications of teachers of natural sciences and mathematics, as well as conducting practical and laboratory classes.
Significant work has been carried out to date in the field of digitalization and the development of information technologies.
At present, there is a need to properly and systematically explain to different segments of the population, especially young people and adolescents, the culture of using the Internet, mobile phones, artificial intelligence and, particularly, social networks.
The harm or benefit of new technologies depends on how we use them.
Observations show that in recent years, the uncontrolled use of smartphones and social networks among pupils of general secondary education institutions has become a serious concern.
Experts and independent analysts from authoritative international organizations have also repeatedly emphasized in their reports that smartphones and social networks distract pupils' attention and hinder their education.
A number of developed countries have already prohibited, in various forms, the use of phones by pupils under the age of 16.
It should be noted that every type of information has age restrictions.
However, this requirement is generally not observed on social networks, and as a result, a significant proportion of children and adolescents have already been negatively affected by such information.
Excessive and uncontrolled use of smartphones and social networks causes serious harm to their mental health, sleep, speech, memory, ability to acquire literacy and knowledge, activity and physical development.
Instead of reading books, developing their skills or engaging in sports, pupils spend many hours in the virtual space of social networks.
We must not forget that children and adolescents are the future of the nation, and we cannot remain indifferent to issues concerning their health, that is, the future of the nation.
Taking this into account, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Agency for Innovation and Digital Technologies, and the Committee for Primary and Secondary Professional Education are instructed, within three months, to comprehensively analyze and consider this issue and submit proposals to the Government regarding possible solutions.
In the context of rapid digitalization, continuous development of communication technologies and the growing number of social networks and electronic information resources, young people must possess a high level of information culture.
They must use social networks consciously, be able to resist biased information and false messages, particularly extremist ideas, use the Internet to acquire knowledge and study sciences, devote their time to reading books, and contribute to ensuring the information and ideological security of society.
Taking these realities into account, it is necessary to find ways to strengthen the information immunity of adolescents and young people against modern threats and dangers, as well as to raise their level of information culture.
Dear attendees!
A number of benefits have been established to support graduates of general secondary education institutions and prepare highly qualified national specialists.
One such benefit, which has been in effect for almost thirty years, since 1997, is the admission of students to higher professional education institutions in the country through the Presidential quota.
The main purpose of the Presidential quota is to support and encourage girls and boys from remote rural areas of the country's cities and districts to obtain education, as well as to provide such areas with highly qualified specialists.
During this period, 29,000 graduates of general secondary education institutions from 61 cities and districts have been admitted through the Presidential quota to 20 higher professional education institutions in the country. Today, they are successfully working and contributing in various fields.
It should be noted that in recent years, the development of primary and secondary professional education has become one of the important areas of the country's socio-economic policy.
The development of industry, energy, construction, modern agriculture, transport, tourism, services, digital technologies and other sectors of the national economy is impossible without qualified personnel possessing professions and professional skills.
Taking this need into account, and in order to establish a modern vocational training system, the Committee for Primary and Secondary Professional Education under the Government of Tajikistan was established.
The creation of this structure made it possible to develop primary and secondary professional education as an independent state system with a unified policy, modern standards, coordination mechanisms, direct links with the labour market and cooperation with industrial enterprises.
During this period, the number of professions and specialties at the levels of primary and secondary professional education increased from 230 to 730.
In particular, at the primary professional education level, workers are currently being trained in 14 fields and 330 professions and specialties, while at the secondary professional education level, training is provided in 10 fields and 400 specialties.
These indicators demonstrate that the system of primary and secondary professional education is gradually adapting to labour-market requirements and preparing the personnel needed for the real sectors of the national economy.
At present, there are 66 primary professional education institutions operating in the country, with more than 28,000 students, including approximately 8,000 girls.
The number of students in secondary professional education institutions has reached 106,500, an increase of 13,000 compared with the 2020–2021 academic year and 9,000 compared with the previous academic year.
The adoption of the Programme for the Development of the Primary and Secondary Professional Education System of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2026–2029 marks the beginning of a new stage of reform in this sector.
According to the implementation plan of this programme, during 2026–2029 the repair and restoration of buildings of 61 educational institutions are planned, including 43 primary professional education institutions and 18 secondary professional education institutions.
At the same time, it should be noted that there are still issues in this sector that require solutions.
In particular, the main tasks of the next stage are improving the quality of practical training, fully equipping workshops and laboratories, providing institutions with specialized textbooks, attracting experienced teachers and vocational training instructors, strengthening links with production enterprises, and ensuring employment opportunities for graduates.
In this regard, the Committee for Primary and Secondary Professional Education is instructed to take additional measures to resolve existing problems.
At the same time, I emphasize to parents, teachers, heads of educational institutions, executive bodies of state authority and employers that involving young people in learning professions and crafts must become a daily practice and a nationwide task.
Everyone must understand that possessing a profession and craft is an invaluable wealth.
A person who possesses a profession finds their path in life, becomes independent, helps their family, benefits society and contributes to the development of the state.
Therefore, I call upon our dear young people to value their time, acquire science and knowledge, master modern professions and crafts, study foreign languages at a high level, learn to use modern technologies and artificial intelligence, and prepare themselves for a dignified life and a prosperous future for Tajikistan.
A nation whose young people acquire knowledge, master professions and crafts, respect national values and connect their lives with the destiny of the Motherland confidently moves along the path of progress, creation and strengthening of its state.
A state becomes strong only when its young people possess science and knowledge, professions and crafts, mastery and skills, good manners and moral qualities, as well as a strong sense of patriotism.
Dear attendees!
Higher education institutions of the country play a worthy role in the development of education and in expanding and strengthening the level and quality of teaching and upbringing.
Over the years of independence, the number of institutes and universities in the country has increased significantly and currently stands at 51, while a number of our higher education institutions have acquired international status.
The material and technical infrastructure, conditions and opportunities of higher education institutions are continuously improving.
At the same time, there are still certain problems in the country's institutes and universities in areas such as the quality of education, availability of experienced teachers and professors holding academic degrees and titles, preparation of textbooks, activities of technology parks, professional development of teachers, and establishment of modern laboratories, all of which need to be addressed.
In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to one important issue.
According to available data, at most faculties of higher professional education institutions, students spend the first two years mainly studying non-specialized subjects, while most specialized subjects are taught primarily from the third year onward. This reduces students' interest in their chosen profession and specialty.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education and Science and higher professional education institutions are instructed to comprehensively examine this issue within the next three months and submit their proposals to the Government.
In this connection, I emphasize once again that what we primarily need are specialists, not young people who merely possess diplomas.
Another issue that has acquired particular importance under modern conditions is young people's choice of their future profession.
A person must not make a mistake when choosing a profession; otherwise, they may wander throughout their life and be unable to realize their dreams.
Analysis and observations show that in our society there are tendencies in choosing professions based on external imitation, following the example of others, and unjustified or illogical choices.
Most young people want to become either doctors or lawyers.
In other words, in many cases, career choices are made not on the basis of abilities and talent, but under the influence of temporary desires and interests.
In developed countries, special attention is paid from the preschool stage, and then at the primary education level, to identifying children's and adolescents' abilities, talents and inclinations, so that at subsequent stages of education investments can be made in their development and adolescents and young people can be guided in the right direction.
We know well that all parents dream of their children choosing the right path and being happy in the future.
However, sometimes they do not know how to achieve this.
This is especially true when the realities of the modern world are not taken into account.
For example, today specialists in cybersecurity, information technology, artificial intelligence, programming and other similar fields are in high demand in the labour market.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Committee for Primary and Secondary Professional Education, the National Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Education are instructed to submit proposals to the Government within three months on developing a culture of career choice and mechanisms for identifying the abilities and professional inclinations of children and adolescents.
Alongside this, we must also pay special attention to the upbringing of adolescents and young people.
Proper behaviour and speech reflect a person's level of upbringing and spiritual character.
Every person in society earns respect and authority, above all, through good qualities, high morality and dignified behaviour.
Therefore, moral education must begin in the family and continue consistently in educational institutions.
Those who lack parental upbringing, neglect their studies, do not have a profession or craft, and lack a clear purpose in life are more likely to commit offences and crimes.
Parents are obliged to create a healthy atmosphere in the family for the upbringing and comprehensive development of their children.
Teachers are obliged to instil in pupils respect for the Motherland, the law, parents, national values and high moral qualities.
I emphasize that in the extremely important and decisive task of education and upbringing, even greater responsibility undoubtedly rests with teachers, because they are a powerful force in upbringing.
Furthermore, improving the quality of education and preparing personnel who meet the requirements of our developing era depend primarily on professors and teachers, that is, education-sector workers.
They must always remember that the treatment of patients — the health of the people; the construction of various facilities — the development and improvement of the Motherland; ensuring the country's socio-economic development — the dignified life of every family; and, in general, all spheres of social and state life depend on the work of specialists who are educated and trained by the education system.
Dear attendees!
We live in an exceptionally complex, crisis-ridden, contradictory and dangerous period of the modern world.
In recent years, some norms and principles of international relations that for decades were recognized as the foundation of stability and peaceful coexistence have gradually lost their significance.
As a result of wars and conflicts, thousands of people are being killed, millions are losing their homes, and the threat of comprehensive instability poses a danger to international security.
Under such circumstances, it is especially necessary for all of us, first and foremost, to demonstrate tolerance, act thoughtfully and with restraint, and make efforts to protect national interests.
At all times and under all circumstances, we must make every effort to preserve peace and stability, national unity, the achievements of State Independence, tranquillity and prosperity in our beloved Motherland, and constantly strive to further expand the processes of creation and development in our country.
Our most important goal is to ensure the improvement and progress of the Motherland and the state, both today and tomorrow, and to provide the people with a dignified life.
In achieving and consistently fulfilling this noble goal, all residents of the country must act together and in unity.
Each of us must value and protect independence and freedom, peace and unity, the language, history and culture, as well as other material and spiritual values of the ancient Tajik nation.
I am satisfied and proud that the workers of the country's education sector, our professors and teachers, pupils and students are always among the foremost defenders of national interests, and that their position remains firm and unwavering.
I am confident that our educated and enlightened young people, who possess professions and crafts, are patriotic and creative, will tomorrow become the driving force of the national economy, a strong pillar of a progressive society and a guarantee of the continuation of the creative path of independent Tajikistan.
Expressing confidence in a more developed and prosperous future for our beloved Tajikistan, I once again sincerely congratulate education-sector workers, professors and teachers, students and pupils, as well as all of you, dear attendees, on the sacred and great holiday of the 35th anniversary of State Independence, the beginning of the new academic year and Knowledge Day.
I wish all of you, dear attendees, and the entire people of Tajikistan good health and happiness, prosperity in every home and new successes.
Long live and prosper the independence of our beloved Tajikistan!
