Kyrgyzstan Transitions to 12-Year Education; "Uchkun" Prints 40,000 Textbooks Daily

As Kyrgyzstan implements its transition to a 12-year education system, the "Uchkun" printing house is operating at full capacity, printing 40,000 textbooks per day. This intensive production aims to meet the demand for new educational materials required by the extended schooling period. The director of the printing house, Bakytbek Sultanov, reported that since the beginning of the year, around 3 million textbooks have been published, with a target of 7 million copies to be ready for the upcoming academic year.

Sultanov highlighted that the printing of mathematics textbooks is complete, and the production of natural science textbooks is currently underway. He indicated that the printing house is entering its peak operational phase and will soon transition to 24-hour work shifts to meet the deadline. The quality of these textbooks is rigorously checked by the Ministry of Education to ensure they meet all state standards, including the color and structure of the paper, the use of non-toxic biological ink, and safe adhesives.

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Mathematics has already been fully completed, and a natural science textbook is currently being printed. The peak of work has begun, and we will soon start working around the clock.

Tologon Amatov, director of the "Okuu Kitebi" publishing house, explained the phased rollout of new educational materials. Schools are progressively adopting new comprehensive learning packages that include textbooks, workbooks, and teacher guides. In the previous year, students in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 7th grades received new books for English, mathematics, natural sciences, and "Alipbe" (likely an alphabet primer). This year, the 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades will be supplied, with the 4th and 9th grades to follow next year. Workbooks will be provided free of charge to students.

Statistics indicate a significant increase in textbook production. Between 2017 and 2024, 3.74 million textbooks were supplied to schools nationwide. In 2025 alone, the volume reached 4.08 million copies. For 2026, a budget of 744 million Kyrgyz som has been allocated for textbook printing, underscoring the government's commitment to supporting the educational reform.

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The quality of textbooks for compliance with standards (color and structure of paper, biological ink, non-toxic glue, etc.) is checked by the Ministry of Education.