Photo: Ministry of Preschool Education of Uzbekistan
Every morning in Uzbekistan's remote mountains, preschool children climb into school buses to spend three hours painting, playing, making and singing. The Kindergarten on Wheels project is a model of how to bring pre-school education to remote rural areas. Five years ago, just one in four Uzbek children went to preschool, and in remote areas, just one in ten. Since 2017, preschool enrollment has jumped from 27% to 67%, and aims to be 80% by 2026. The fleet of specially designed school buses, fitted with solar panels to run air conditioning and a microwave oven, can function entirely off-grid. The buses travel through the mountains, stopping in a different village each day, providing three hours of play-based learning to up to 16 children at a time. "Giving all children access to preschool education that is inclusive, caring and creative is key," says Stefania Giannini, UNESCO's assistant director-general for education.
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