Education

National certificate exams in native language to be held in current alphabet

Illustration: Tezkun / AI. Not a photograph of the event.

National certification exams in native language and literature to be held on October 24-26 will use the current Latin script, not the updated Uzbek alphabet, according to the Agency for Assessment of Knowledge and Qualifications.

According to the agency, all test tasks have been compiled in the current Latin script. Participants must use it when answering open-ended questions and in written works, including essays. The exams will be held in all regions of Uzbekistan.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the amendments to the alphabet on October 21. According to the law, the updated script will come into effect in six months, so it will not be applied in the upcoming exams. The agency called on participants to take this into account when preparing and taking the exams.

The changes imply that instead of O‘ and G‘, Ö ö and Ğ ğ will be written, and instead of Sh and Ch combinations, Ş ş and Ç ç will be used. The transition to the new script will be gradual: the translation of school textbooks will start in 2027, and it is planned to be completed in all classes by 2031.

What it means

Participants in the October 24-26 exams will write tests, answers to open-ended questions, and essays in the current Latin script. The updated alphabet will come into effect six months after the law is signed; textbooks will start being translated into it in 2027, with a full transition in all classes planned for 2031.

Published 24 October 2026, 17:35 · No updates · Russian original

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