On 20 February, the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan hosted a ‘Direct Talk’ meeting on ‘Accelerating Access to Preschool Education,’ organised jointly with the Government of Turkmenistan, the United Nations and UNICEF. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan.

The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, relevant departments, the National Institute of Education, as well as the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko, UNICEF representative Jalpa Ratna and international experts who joined online.

In their speeches, they emphasised the importance of investing in early childhood development, expanding access to quality pre-school education and inter-agency cooperation.

Three key areas were discussed: the results of the pilot programme to support parents, preparations for the launch of a free one-year half-day pre-school programme from September 2026, and the development of a roadmap for the phased expansion of the programme from September 2027, taking into account the effectiveness of investments and monitoring mechanisms.

Following the meeting, the participants confirmed their readiness to continue working together to develop early education, support parents and expand access to quality pre-school education.