Thirteen specialists from Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia plan to arrive in Uzbekistan in the new academic year as part of the humanitarian project Class! (Zo'r!). For the first time in Uzbekistan, this initiative will include holding a Pedagogical Olympiad for school students.
The goal of this project is to improve the quality of teaching the Russian language and general education subjects in Russian in schools across the territory of Uzbekistan.
Tatyana Gdalina, director of the Center for Working with Gifted Youth and Applicants at Herzen University, noted that the Olympiad will serve as a tool to identify among schoolchildren those who possess pedagogical abilities. Winners and prize-winners will receive additional points for individual achievements when applying to Herzen University and its Tashkent branch, as well as valuable prizes.
The competition will consist of three blocks: testing the level of Russian language proficiency, assessing psychological and pedagogical skills, and checking subject knowledge. Finalists will pass the final stage of the Olympiad in person.
It is planned that the pilot season of the Olympiad will take place in Tashkent. The organizers expect at least 500 high school students from various regions of Uzbekistan to participate in it.
Project specialists will organize the Olympiad concurrently with conducting advanced training courses for teachers over three months in Tashkent, Gulistan, Fergana, Jizzakh, Termez, Samarkand, and other cities in the country.
Yulia Komarova, advisor to the Rector of Herzen University on international educational policy and head of the Class! project, stated that annual visits by Russian specialists in international methodology have become part of efforts to promote and support the Russian language outside of Russia. According to her, the project has received recognition at an intergovernmental level.
The Class! (Zo'r!) project is implemented by Herzen University since 2020 with the support of the Ministry of Education of Russia. The project's activities cover both teacher training and professional development.
In 2025, approximately 50 interactive events were held for Uzbek teachers within the framework of the project. Specialists from Herzen University conducted nearly 300 individual and group consultations for Russian language teachers and visited 54 Russian language and literature lessons in Uzbek schools.
Career guidance events involving university specialists took place in 138 educational institutions. School students gained insight into pedagogical universities in both Uzbekistan and Russia, as well as into the opportunities within the system of Russian academic Olympiads.
In the current academic year, specialists also intend to use Russian grammar textbooks for grades 2–11 in Uzbek schools, developed by Herzen University. Work with these materials will be integrated into teachers' advanced training programs.
