On June 16 the Southern Competency Center officially opened in Osh, creating a new training hub for cooks and kitchen staff working in schools and preschools across southern Kyrgyzstan.
This is an important development for parents of schoolchildren. A hot breakfast or lunch at school may seem like an ordinary part of a child’s day, but behind every meal lies a great deal of work: composing balanced menus, preserving the nutritional value and quality of ingredients, preparing appealing meals, and ensuring compliance with food safety and nutrition standards. These are precisely the skills that the Center will help strengthen.
The Southern Competency Center has been established at Vocational Lyceum No. 12 of Osh State University. The project was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the Russian Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI), which acts as the CIS Base Organization for School Feeding.
The opening ceremony brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education, government agencies, international organizations, local authorities, and educational institutions. The Ministry of Education was represented by Ainura Kuseinova, Head of the Department of Initial Vocational Education; Nurzida Kasymova, Head of the Department of Preschool Education; and Mirbek Rakhmatildeev, Lead Specialist of the School Education Department. Other distinguished guests included Roman Svistin, Consul of the Russian Federation in Osh; Kojiro Nakai, WFP Country Director in Kyrgyzstan; Vladimir Chernigov, President of SIFI; and Elena Bolotnikova, SIFI Director for International Cooperation.
The ceremony began with welcoming remarks and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Guests were then offered a tour of the training facilities by Chynarkan Obdunova, Head of the Southern Competency Center. The program continued with a masterclass on school meal preparation led by Shukhrat Sharipov, Chairman of the Chefs’ Association of Kyrgyzstan, followed by a tasting of the dishes prepared during the demonstration.
What will participants learn?
Training at the Center will be strongly practice-oriented. School and preschool kitchen staff will receive practical instruction in modern food preparation techniques, sanitation and hygiene requirements, food safety, menu planning, and standards for child nutrition.
Upon completing the program, participants will have the opportunity to obtain professional certification. For schools and preschools, this creates a pathway towards more consistent and consolidated approaches to child nutrition. For cooks and kitchen staff, it offers an opportunity to strengthen their professional skills and apply them with greater confidence in their daily work.
New opportunities for southern areas
The Southern Competency Center builds on the work launched in Bishkek, where the Republican Competency Center was established in 2022. Since 2023, Kyrgyzstan has been implementing continuous professional development programs for school canteen staff. The opening of the new center now extends these training opportunities to specialists working in the country’s southern areas.
The development of a professional training system is particularly important in light of upcoming changes to school feeding. Under a decision by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, funding for school meals is expected to increase from 14 to 40 soms per student daily, starting January 1, 2027. This will make it possible to offer more diverse and nutritionally balanced menus, while well-trained canteen staff will be better equipped to make the most of these new opportunities for the benefit of children.
The experience of Kun-Nuru preschool
Following the opening ceremony, participants visited Kun-Nuru preschool in Osh to learn about its approach to child nutrition. The preschool enrolls 573 children and has been participating in the first phase of WFP’s preschool feeding pilot project since September 2025.
Under the project, the preschool receives WFP-fortified wheat flour at a rate of 50 grams per child. The institution has also been provided with canteen equipment, including an immersion blender and a steam-cooking set. Additionally, the kitchen workers have already completed training at the Republican Competency Center.
The Southern Competency Center will serve as a hub where specialists can build on their knowledge, strengthen practical skills, and exchange professional experience. For children, this means something even more important: greater attention to the quality, safety, and nutritional value of the food they receive every day at schools and preschools.