The President, during a meeting with teachers and mentors, announced a series of important reforms in school education.

“The future of our nation begins with schools. The stage that lasts the longest—and in many cases is decisive—in providing our children with knowledge and upbringing is school education,” the President said.

Currently, 6.5million students are studying in schools across the country. This year, about 400,000 schoolchildren left school as graduates, while 720,000 children entered first grade. Over the past eight years, nearly 500 new schools have been built,and existing ones have been expanded, creating places for an additional 1million students.

Due to favorable conditions created for private schools, parents now have more choices. Today, more than 200,000 children study in private schools. It was emphasized that several other significant changes will also be introduced in school education.

From the new academic year, unified state exams will be introduced for students in grades 9and 11 to guide them toward vocational or higher education based on their abilities. Through this, nearly 400,000 ninth-grade graduates will be admitted to technical schools.

For those who wish to continue their studies and enter university, subjects will be taught in greater depth according to their chosen direction. In short, final school exam results will allow graduates either to enroll in technical schools or to apply to higher education institutions.