The U.S. Embassy-funded 2025 Next Generation Education teacher training program (NextGenEd), which trains over a thousand teachers annually throughout Kyrgyzstan, started this month. The program implementer, Lingua Foundation for Innovative Education, celebrated the start of the program with an event on April 29 in Bishkek hosted by Arabaev State University, with remarks by representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Republican Institute of Teachers’ Professional Development, and the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic. Attendees also honored the winners of this year’s U.S. Embassy-funded English Language Teacher Olympiad.
Each year since 2022, the U.S. Embassy has provided free English language and professional development classes to 800 English and 400 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) secondary school teachers in all seven regions of the Kyrgyz Republic through NextGenEd. The program improves teachers’ English language and teaching skills through training in project-based, student-centered, and communicative teaching methodologies.
The Cultural Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Jeffrey Bunting, told participants that “the U.S. government supports the NextGenEd program because it is an investment in teachers’ human capital. Teachers’ professional development is one of the most impactful ways to support the students of the Kyrgyz Republic,” he said.
In addition to celebrating the start of the NextGenEd program, Mr. Bunting presented certificates to the winners of the 2025 English Language Teachers Olympiad. The U.S. Embassy started the Olympiad in November 2021 to promote professional development among secondary school and university English teachers, attracting over 1,200 teachers this year. The Republican Institute for Teacher Professional Development under the Ministry of Education and Science joined the U.S. Embassy and the Lingua Foundation in issuing certificates, recognizing that the training program meets the national professional development standards for teachers.
