Termez State University maintains an institutional childcare and family-support framework designed to assist academic, administrative and support staff in balancing their professional responsibilities with the care and upbringing of their children. Recognising that childcare responsibilities can significantly influence professional participation, career development and workplace equality, the university has established childcare infrastructure, preferential preschool arrangements and family-responsive employment provisions. These initiatives contribute to creating an inclusive working environment in which parenthood does not constitute an unnecessary barrier to academic and professional advancement.
An important foundation of this commitment is the dedicated childcare facility established within Student Dormitory No. 6 on 8 April 2021, specifically intended to accommodate the children of university teachers and students. The facility was established with free childcare provision, enabling academic personnel to undertake teaching and other professional responsibilities while their children received supervised care in a safe and supportive environment. Its establishment represented a practical institutional response to the challenges faced by working parents, particularly women managing the simultaneous demands of childcare and employment.
The childcare facility incorporates specially equipped rooms, hygienic accommodation, age-appropriate recreational materials and educational resources. Qualified and experienced caregivers provide supervision and developmental activities adapted to children's needs. The provision includes three nutritious meals daily, morning physical exercises and structured activities involving language learning, reading, writing, drawing, music and creative development. Dedicated waiting spaces are also available for parents, strengthening the convenience and accessibility of childcare arrangements within the university environment.
The university's wider childcare provision includes a public–private partnership kindergarten serving the children of academic and administrative employees. The preschool arrangements accommodate children aged 3–7 years, providing educational and developmental activities under the supervision of qualified early-childhood educators. The service operates within the national preschool education framework and incorporates preferential payment arrangements for the children of university employees. These concessions are intended to reduce the financial burden of childcare while enabling parents to maintain regular participation in their professional activities.
Institutional childcare provision is reinforced by the university's Paternity Leave and Shared Childcare Support Policy, effective from 1 January 2025. This policy establishes a formal framework for facilitating access to childcare through university facilities or recognised partner providers, with implementation responsibilities assigned to the Human Resources Department and the Women's Affairs Committee. The policy strengthens institutional accountability for family-support measures and recognises childcare access as an important component of employee welfare and gender-responsive employment practices.
The university also provides family-related employment protections designed to support parents during the early stages of childcare. Employees caring for young children benefit from applicable maternity and childcare leave entitlements, employment protection and arrangements facilitating the reconciliation of professional duties with family responsibilities. The institutional shared-childcare policy further allows eligible parents of children under three to request partial remote-working arrangements covering up to 50% of their weekly working hours, while providing ten working days of paid paternity leave within the designated period following childbirth or adoption. These measures complement childcare facilities by encouraging a more equitable distribution of caregiving responsibilities and reducing employment-related pressures on working parents.
The university's commitment extends to the development of additional childcare infrastructure. Construction of a new 70-place childcare facility commenced in 2024, with commissioning scheduled for 2026. The development is intended to expand the university's capacity to accommodate employees' children, improve access to early-childhood education and strengthen long-term family-support infrastructure. The planned facility represents an investment in the university's future childcare capacity, complementing its established childcare arrangements and employment-related support measures.
Family-oriented institutional assistance also includes recreational and developmental opportunities for employees' children. During August 2025, the university financed a 12-day summer recreation programme for 25 children of university employees at the Vaxshivor summer camp. Participation was provided entirely free of charge through institutional financial support. The children took part in educational, recreational and cultural activities, demonstrating the university's broader commitment to supporting employee families and promoting children's well-being beyond the conventional workplace.
Termez State University's childcare and family-support approach recognises that meaningful workplace equality requires practical measures addressing the responsibilities associated with raising children. By combining dedicated childcare infrastructure, preferential preschool arrangements, employment flexibility, parental leave provisions and family welfare activities, the university seeks to create conditions in which employees can pursue professional responsibilities without compromising their children's care and development.
These measures are particularly significant for female academic and administrative personnel, who may otherwise experience disproportionate interruptions to their professional development because of caregiving responsibilities. Accessible childcare and family-responsive working arrangements contribute to stronger employee retention, greater continuity in teaching and research activities and more equitable opportunities for career advancement.
Through its institutional childcare framework and continued investment in family-support infrastructure, Termez State University advances Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality by promoting a family-friendly working environment, reducing childcare-related barriers to employment and supporting the equal participation of women and men in academic and professional life.