Regions and Countries

	Table of Contents
p. 10 of 19 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies A. Agriculture B. Infrastructure C. Social Infrastructure and Environment D. Governance Dimensions of ADB Operations E. Gender Dimensions of ADB Operations F. Private Sector Development IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Uzbekistan : III. Sector Strategies

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C. Social Infrastructure and Environment

1. Education

53. The National Program for the Personnel Training System (NPPT) was adopted by the Government in August 1997 with the aim of establishing a national educational system of international standards meeting the requirements of a modern market economy and a democratic society. The NPPT sanctions key features introduced in the education system since independence, including the extension of compulsory education from 9 to 12 years, the introduction of Latin-script Uzbek language materials in schools, and the authorization of private educational institutions. The reform agenda, as reflected in the NPPT and subsequent Government decrees, gives high priority to (i) strengthening the relationship between education, training and the labor market; (ii) updating the contents and processes of education at all levels; (iii) upgrading the skills of educational staff; (iv) introducing new educational technologies; and (v) promoting educational and scientific research.

54. Key challenges confronting the education sector include (i) enhancing quality and relevance of education to the emerging socio-economic context of the country and to international trends in education (e.g., curriculum relevance, modern pedagogy, up-to-date standards, major reorientation and training for teaching staff); (ii) enhancing program and curriculum flexibility, particularly at senior secondary and tertiary levels, to permit responsiveness to dynamic social and labor market demands; (iii) achieving the NPPT objectives cost-effectively, inter alia through enhanced efficiency of the system and re-examining resource allocation mechanisms, norms, and subsidy targeting; and (iv) strengthening sector planning and management capacities (developing outcome focused information systems, decentralizing education management and finance, and fostering public-private partnership).

55. In response to these challenges, ADB prioritizes support to compulsory education, enhancing (i) quality and relevance of education; and (ii) national capacities to design, manage and monitor education reforms. As the lead agency in education and human development, and in line with the Government's' strategy to implement new changes progressively from the lower grades, initial ADB support focused on basic education (grades 1-9), and now followed by support to senior secondary education (grades 10-12). Over the next years, ADB will continue enhancing policy dialogue with the Government and promoting more systemic, coordinated and participatory approaches to the reform process. Investment activities need to be linked with and grounded on effective policies and strategies to address the challenges faced by the sector, and effective use and integration of inputs from technical assistance program for the sector.

56. The Basic Education Textbook Development Project supports the introduction of the new generation of textbooks and learning materials, enhancement of curriculum development capacities, and reforms in the textbook publishing and printing industry. The Basic Education Staff Development Project will further contribute to educational quality improvement by expanding the teacher training capacity through distance education and introducing new teacher education programs. This Project will also address sectoral efficiency issues by improving the development of teaching and non teaching staff, reviewing staff service conditions, and modernizing the human resources management system.

57. The Senior Secondary Education Project assists the Government in pilot-testing, laying initial foundations for development of a new system of senior secondary education. Attention focuses on (i) linkages and relevance of the curriculum to students' learning needs, emerging employment and higher education opportunities; (ii) internal efficiency of individual school and the subsystem; and (iii) schools' linkages with the local industries, post-secondary education, and community. These are expected to (i) contribute to development of the outcome oriented monitoring and evaluation for the senior secondary subsector, and (ii) generate lessons and recommendations from the pilot schools to feed into future strategies and policies on the subsector development and the NPPT. The 12-year compulsory education and expansion of the senior secondary system involve considerable resource implications. ADB will support the Government in identifying strategies for maximizing investment returns and ensuring financial sustainability of the subsector. These activities are to be conducted in close coordination with other donor assistance (both grants and loans) to the subsector.

58. The Senior Secondary Education Project assists the Government in pilot-testing, laying initial foundations for development of a new system of senior secondary education. Attention focuses on (i) linkages and relevance of the curriculum to students' learning needs, emerging employment and higher education opportunities; (ii) internal efficiency of individual school and the subsystem; and (iii) schools' linkages with the local industries, post-secondary education, and community. These are expected to (i) contribute to development of the outcome oriented monitoring and evaluation for the senior secondary subsector, and (ii) generate lessons and recommendations from the pilot schools to feed into future strategies and policies on the subsector development and the NPPT. The 12-year compulsory education and expansion of the senior secondary system involve considerable resource implications. ADB will support the Government in identifying strategies for maximizing investment returns and ensuring financial sustainability of the subsector. These activities are to be conducted in close coordination with other donor assistance (both grants and loans) to the subsector.

2. Urban Development

59. While the incidence of poverty is more widespread in rural areas, there are also significant urban poverty issues. Since independence, investment has slowed and basic urban social infrastructure services such as water supply, sanitation, drainage, solid waste management, district heating and hot water supply have deteriorated. The operation and maintenance of aging assets have become increasingly difficult. Performance efficiency has dropped and the cost of service delivery has risen. As a result the urban population is receiving service of a lower standard that is affecting their living and health conditions. Arresting the decline in communal services and the deterioration of existing infrastructure systems and preserving living standards in the urban areas are a major challenge.

60. Across the urban sector, investment and policy reforms are needed to ensure adequate service provision in a fiscally sustainable fashion and provide an avenue to address the serious environmental problems including water resource pollution. The Government has adopted comprehensive programs for water supply and gas distribution in both urban and rural areas, especially focusing on installing metering systems for households.

61. ADB assistance in the urban sector will focus on addressing governance and decentralization issues, particularly in the provision of communal services and management. Urban governance encompasses institutional strengthening and capacity building, community participation, and involvement of the private sector. Ongoing policy changes in the delivery of municipal services could improve the transparency and accountability of local governments and participation of the poor in governance-related decision making.

62. In some areas and in some localities, the Government has been receiving international assistance. To avoid duplication of effort, ADB's assistance in this field will be carefully coordinated with other international funding agencies. ADB's first intervention in the urban social infrastructure sector will undertake a comprehensive sector analysis and in-depth feasibility study, and up-front capacity building and policy support activities of improving the capacity of the central and local governments in the delivery of urban social infrastructure services.

3. Health

63. ADB is supporting implementation of a National Environmental Action Plan. To address environmental issues, in close coordination with other donor agencies, ADB has provided technical assistance in environmental management, which aims to build the capacity of environmental institutions to undertake environmental impact assessment. The TA focused on (i) interagency coordination, (ii) training programs on environmental impact assessment, (iii) developing environmental laws and regulations, (iv) strengthening environmental management of mining and industrial activities, and (v) institutionalizing framework for environmental monitoring.

64. In addition, the ADB's Country Assistance Plan for 2001 -2003 addresses environmental issues with special focus on agriculture and urban social infrastructure development projects. Agriculture projects will include environmental issues and components such as reducing water pollution, improving land and water resources management (e.g., encouraging water conservation, and protecting soil resources). The urban social infrastructure development project will address reducing water pollution and promoting solid waste management.

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