Time is an invaluable resource, so you need to appreciate every day and spend it with benefits. And to explain to young people the value of every day, every hour, every moment places a great responsibility on each of us.
Therefore, in recent years, several measures have been taken to organize the free time of schoolchildren and out-of-school education effectively.
Today we see the results of practical work to improve the morale of young people, attract them to culture, art, physical culture, and sports, instill skills in using information technology, and popularize reading among young people.
In particular, there are 219 “Barkamol Avlod” children’s schools in the country, and 287,153 youth students are involved in 9,765 organized courses.
Various courses are essential for children to study according to their abilities and desires. A wide range of opportunities allows children to show their abilities in different directions. It is noteworthy that such courses help reveal children's hidden talents, which their parents and teachers did not know about.
We live in the age of information and development. There are new inventions, conveniences, and opportunities. However, modern developments also cause a decrease in human memory and a decrease in the analytical capabilities of the brain. Let’s take the numbers that are dialed on one cell phone. These numbers are not in our memory, because we can call the right person at any time using the number stored in the phone’s memory. The memory functions of the brain are not doing their job. This naturally leads to memory loss. It’s a pity that our children also suffer from this.
Or navigation devices. We move according to the device's instructions when we go to a new destination. The notion of someone explaining the path is now almost nonexistent. As a result, the ability of the brain to analyze is reduced.
For this reason, along with protecting young people from malicious attacks on the Internet, teaching them the effective use of information technology (not to be silent) is one of the urgent tasks. In this case, manifesting their creative ability is a really effective solution.
It is essential to use directions that interest students in the correct and meaningful organization of their free time. In particular, forums, circles, robotics, and language courses are organized continuously to improve the talents of boys and girls.
Taking this into account, to develop the inventive abilities of schoolchildren, the activities of experimental design bureaus have been established in 14 regions. In 25 “Barkamol Avlod” children’s schools, with the involvement of the private sector, courses in robotics, mental arithmetic, and foreign languages are organized and run continuously. Undoubtedly, these efforts will bear fruit.
Instilling in young people a love for books from an early age is a solid foundation for forming their independent thinking and a broad outlook. Special attention is paid to the widespread promotion of reading among schoolchildren. Various festivals are held in this direction, and the number of audiobooks in the children’s library has increased dramatically.
In particular, 502,355 students were involved in 39,742 reading circles at educational institutions. The Republican Children’s Library has prepared 190 titles of audiobooks and posted them on the website “kitob.uz”.
Children, looking at each other, learn more effectively and with even greater interest. Therefore, such projects as the “Reading Festival”, “60 Minutes of Reading”, and “The Book is the Center of Spirituality” were implemented, which covered more than 140,000 students. I believe that reading not only expands the worldview of young people, but also increases interest in and respect for our people, traditions, and history.
There is another essential aspect. In recent years, trips to different regions of the country with a rich history and sights are often organized, which is of incomparable importance in the productive and meaningful spending of free time for young students, in familiarizing them with every corner of the Motherland, and in developing a sense of pride.
It is noteworthy that during the year, tours around the country were organized under the slogan “Travel around Uzbekistan” for 125,660 people, within the framework of the “Youth Tourism Week” – 192,705 people (including 4,513 persons with disabilities), within the framework of the “Moziyga Sayohat” 858 employees of republican organizations under the ministry, as well as teachers and students of 63,870 educational institutions.
Another important area is various sports competitions held between schools to introduce young people to a healthy lifestyle. Thus, sports competitions “Merry Starts”, “Youth Sports Teams”, and “Spend Summer Vacation with Sports” were held among students, which covered 2.1 million young people.
In the summer of 2023, 157,000 children were planned to rest in 200 stationary camps. Today 42,909 children rest in 183 stationary camps.
In a word, conditions and opportunities are created for our children to effectively spend their time both at school and outside the educational institution. But at the same time, we should remember that parents and families should instill interest in courses, professions, activities, and sports.
No wonder they say whoever seeks will find an opportunity. The fact that our young people are physically healthy, harmoniously developed, and in a good mood will ensure the peace and well-being of our families and serve the further growth and development of human capital in New Uzbekistan for many years to come.
Mavjuda KHASANOVA,
Deputy of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis