Schoolchildren aged 13 and over have been sent to pick cotton in all districts in Samarkand Region despite government pledges not to use child labour in this cotton harvest.

Children were sent to cotton fields on 22 September.

An official from the Pastdargom District education department said this order had taken him and his colleagues by surprise because only few days before they were ordered to ensure 100% attendances at schools.

“This contradicts the recent resolution issued by the governor of Samarkand Region, Uktam Barnoyev, that children under 15 should not be sent to pick cotton,” a school director said.

Other sources in Samarkand Region said that students of colleges, lyceums and universities had long been picking cotton in the region, although this has not been officially reported.