This week Uzbekistan joined the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), becoming the 59th developing country partner. Working with GPE partners, the country has articulated its education priorities for the period between 2013 and 2017. These include improving the quality of education for remote areas, increasing the coverage of early childhood education, and improving teacher training as well as monitoring and evaluation.

“We welcome the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Global Partnership for Education. We confirm our commitment to working with the Government and its partners to accelerate the country’s progress toward the goal of Education for All” said Alice Albright, GPE’s Chief Executive Officer. As a GPE member country, Uzbekistan is now eligible to apply for a Program Implementation Grant in the amount of $49.9 million over three years.

Uzbekistan’s new Education Sector Plan lays out a clear roadmap for progress in the education sector going forward. These efforts have been supported by the Local Education Group comprising development partners including UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the Korean International Cooperation Agency, the European Union and the British Council.

The strategic vision of the Education Sector Plan includes the following five goals:

• Improve early childhood and pre-school education so that children are well prepared for school
• Expand general secondary education to ensure that children progress successfully through the education system
• Promote secondary specialized professional education to create linkages between schools and the labor market for youth
• Improve teacher training
• Focus on higher education to foster scientific, socio-economic and cultural development in the country.

The Global Partnership for Education is made up of nearly 60 developing country governments, as well as other donor governments, civil society/non-governmental organizations, teacher organizations, international organizations, and private sector organizations and foundations, whose joint mission is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to provide a good quality education to children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable.