In a significant policy shift, Tajikistan has amended its law on military service, granting a full exemption from compulsory military duty to all school teachers for the duration of their professional careers. Previously, this privilege applied only to teachers working in rural areas.
The amendments to the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” were approved by the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament). For the changes to become law, they must now be seconded by the Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament), signed by the president, and published in official media.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, First Deputy Minister Homid Hoshimzoda presented the proposed changes during a parliamentary session on October 15. He emphasized that the reform is aimed at elevating the status of teachers and addressing the critical shortage of qualified educators in the country’s schools.
“The draft law ‘On the Status of Educators’ includes a clause that postpones mandatory military service for the duration of a teacher’s professional work,” said Hoshimzoda.
To align legislation accordingly, he proposed changing the wording in part two of paragraph 4 of Article 31 of the military service law, replacing “rural general education schools” with simply “general education schools.”
Previously, only teachers with higher education degrees working in rural schools were exempt from conscription. The new amendments, once enacted, will extend this exemption to all teachers, regardless of their location or the type of school.
Teacher shortage prompts reform amid ongoing education challenges
The teacher shortage remains a pressing issue in Tajikistan. According to Minister of Education and Science Rahim Saidzoda, at the start of the 2025/2026 academic year, schools across the country faced a shortfall of more than 3,800 teachers — despite the fact that over 13,000 students graduated with teaching degrees this year.
Experts cite several reasons for the staffing crisis, including the forced conscription of some teachers, unfulfilled promises by local authorities to allocate land plots, and the failure to implement other benefits guaranteed to educators.
In response, the government introduced the Law “On the Status of Educators”, which has now been approved by the Majlisi Namoyandagon. For the first time, this law defines the legal, social, and financial status of teachers within a separate legal framework.
The drafting of this law began following a directive from President Emomali Rahmon last year. In a speech on Knowledge Day, the president highlighted the deteriorating status of teachers and called for immediate legal reforms to restore their standing in society.
The new legislation aims to protect teachers’ rights and dignity, explicitly banning their involvement in unpaid community work and the collection of funds within schools. It also shields educators from harassment and undue pressure and grants them social benefits, including priority access to land plots and housing support.
