Uzbek school- teachers 'paid in chickens'

A city in Uzbekistan has paid its schoolteachers in chickens rather than cash, it's reported.

The authorities in Nukus, in the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic, have been handing out freshly-hatched chicks due to a lack of money in the country's banks, US-backed Radio Ozodlik reports.

One teacher describes the decision as "shameful", telling the radio: "Last year they paid us with potatoes, carrots and pumpkins. This year they are forcing us to take newborn chickens instead of our wages. If we need chickens we can buy them from a market at a much cheaper rate."

Another source says the chicks were deemed to be worth 7,000 soms ($2.50; £1.70) each for salary purposes, more than double the going rate at local markets.

Uzbekistan's government tightly controls the domestic media, and residents who speak to foreign media usually do so on condition of anonymity.