Video footages of a group of women busy refurbishing a school are circulating on social media. They were cleaning and whitewashing the walls and ceilings of school rooms and halls.

The author of one of the footages said that those were teachers of maths, English, Russian, labor and other subjects. Despite being on labor leave, they were called to the school for a voluntary unpaid work. 

It turned out that these women were teachers of secondary school No. 42 in Markhamat district of Andijan province. 

The Ministry of Preschool and School Education commented on the footage, stating that the situation is under strict control and is being thoroughly investigated. 

"It should be noted that the Teacher’s Status Law clearly prohibits engaging teachers in work that is not related to their professional duties. Also, any form of administrative coercion of them to work is an offence. In this regard, measures will be taken in accordance with the established procedure against those who caused the above situation,” the statement added. 

It also requested not to assess the situation in a single school as a common situation. 

The Andijan province administration also responded to the situation and stated that since the issue was related to “the dignity of teachers”, this situation had been taken under special control by the provincial administration. 

“The provincial administration, in cooperation with the relevant organizations, has immediately formed a working group and began an objective and comprehensive study. Since this situation is currently under investigation, we ask social media users, bloggers, and media representatives not to spread unverified information,” the administration said in a statement. 

Reportedly, detailed information will be provided on the findings of the investigation and strict measures will be taken against those responsible for the situation. 

"Provincial administration fully supports the opinions expressed on social media that the main duty of teachers is to teach, educate and train the next generation, and it is absolutely illegal to engage teachers in non-educational activities," said the administration's response.