Toktogul Secondary School (Isfana)

Toktogul Secondary School
Uzbek: Toʻqtogʻul nomli oʻrta maktab,
Тўқтоғул номли ўрта мактаб
Location
Isfana
Kyrgyzstan
Coordinates 39°50′19″N 69°31′48″E / 39.8387°N 69.5300°E / 39.8387; 69.5300
Information
School type Elementary, secondary, and high school
Religious affiliation(s) None
Established 1936 (1936)
Language Uzbek

The new building of Toktogul Secondary School. It was constructed in 2009 after a wing of the old building was damaged by an earthquake.

Tokrogul Secondary School (Uzbek: Toʻqtogʻul nomli oʻrta maktab, Тўқтоғул номли ўрта мактаб; Russian: Средняя школа имени Токтогула; Kyrgyz: Токтогул орто мектеби) is a secondary school in Isfana, Kyrgyzstan.[1] Although the school is called a secondary school, it offers classes for grades one through eleven. The school courses are taught in Uzbek.[2]

Toktogul Secondary School was established in 1936. Currently the school has two buildings. The old building was completed in 1947. In 2007, a wing of the old building was seriously damaged by an earthquake. A new two-story building was constructed in 2009.

General framework and curriculum

At Toktogul Secondary School, children are accepted to first grade at the age of six or seven, depending on the child's individual development. The eleven-year school term is split into elementary (grades 1-4), middle (grades 5-9) and senior (grades 10-11) classes. Attending a "basic" nine-year (elementary and middle) program is compulsory. Grades 10-11 are optional.

At Toktogul Secondary School, children of elementary classes are taught, ideally, by a single teacher through all four elementary grades (except for physical education and foreign languages).

Starting from the fifth grade, each academic subject is taught by a dedicated specialty teacher. The school curriculum for senior students includes subjects like mathematics, informatics, physics, chemistry, geography, biology, arts, music, physical education, history, and astronomy. English is taught as a foreign language starting from the fifth grade.

Like many other schools in Kyrgyzstan, Toktogul Secondary School is a double shift school where two streams of students (morning shift and evening shift) share the same facility. The reason for this is that school capacity is insufficient to teach all of the students on a normal, morning-to-afternoon, schedule.

The school year extends from the beginning of September to the end of May and is divided into four terms. The school curriculum at Toktogul School is fixed: unlike in some Western countries, schoolchildren cannot choose what subjects to study. Students are graded on a five-step scale, ranging in practice from 2 ("unacceptable") to 5 ("excellent"); 1 is a rarely used sign of extreme failure. Teachers regularly subdivide these grades (i.e. 4+, 5-) in daily use, but term and year results are graded strictly 2, 3, 4, or 5.

Medium of instruction

The medium of instruction at Toktogul Secondary School is Uzbek. In addition to Uzbek, students also study three other languages, namely English, Kyrgyz, and Russian. Like in many other Uzbek-language schools in Kyrgyzstan, the future of teaching in Uzbek remains uncertain at Toktogul Secondary School.[3]

Lately Kyrgyz authorities have been taking measures to remove the Uzbek language from public life and have been pushing to forcibly switch Uzbek schools to Kyrgyz.[4][5][6][7][8] There are not enough school textbooks in Uzbek and the Kyrgyz government is unwilling provide them, claiming that it does not have enough funds. As Kyrgyz officials strongly oppose the use of textbooks printed in Uzbekistan, currently the majority of Uzbek schoolchildren in Kyrgyzstan study in Uzbek using Kyrgyz textbooks. In addition, in the past few years the number of teaching hours allocated to Kyrgyz language and literature lessons at Uzbek schools has been significantly increased at the expense of Uzbek language and literature lessons.[9]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Isfana: City profile". The Association of Municipalities of the Kyrgyz Republic. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Toktogul Secondary School". The official website of Isfana (in Russian). Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Usmon, Sarvar (11 October 2011). "The fate of Uzbek-language schools in Kyrgyzstan is uncertain". RFE/RL's Uzbek Service (in Uzbek). Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Sherzod (19 November 2011). "What's the purpose? Increasing illiteracy?". RFE/RL's Uzbek Service (in Uzbek). Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Ibraimov, Bakyt; Temir Akmatov (8 December 2011). "Osh mulls ban on Uzbek-language schools". Transitions Online. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Ibraimov, Bakyt; Temir Akmatov (6 August 2012). "Tough talk on Kyrgyz schools". TOL Chalkboard. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Kasym, Elmurad (26 September 2012). "Removing Uzbek from public life". Registan. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Wisniewski, Dan (1 October 2012). "Uzbek language disappearing in Kyrgyzstan". RFE/RL. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  9. ↑ Ivashenko, Yekaterina (13 February 2013). "Who needs this Uzbek education". Fergana News (in Russian). Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Aʼzamov, Hazratqul (12 August 1999). "Isfanalik olim (The Scholar from Isfana)". Mezon (in Uzbek). Osh. Jaloliddin 1974 yil "Toʻqtogʻul" nomli oʻrta maktabning 1-sinfiga oʻqishga bordi. Oʻrta maktabni aʼlo baholar bilan tamomlab 1957-1959 yilgacha Laylak tuman matlubot jamiyatida ishladi. (Jalolidding started the first grade at Toktogul Secondary School in 1947. After graduating from the school with honors, he worked at the Leilek Consumer Cooperative from 1957 until 1959.)
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