At a meeting on February 5, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed concerns about the current state of higher education in Uzbekistan, highlighting inadequacies in colleges and universities, specifically in providing an environment conducive to independent study, and a lack of up-to-date textbooks and learning materials.
President Mirziyoyev is presiding over a session dedicated to priority tasks in the social sector. Despite having 13 ministries and agencies responsible for the sector, along with 223 deputy governors, areas such as education, healthcare, digitalization, culture, and sports still suffer from implementation issues at the local level.
"For instance, despite significant progress in preschool and general education, there is a lack of continuity between kindergartens and schools, schools and colleges and higher education institutions," President Mirziyoyev said. He also pointed out the insufficient involvement of local authorities, including the indifference of community leaders regarding school discipline and parental collaboration, as well as deputy governors responsible for youth and social issues who neglect to organize cultural and sports events in schools.
The president voiced his objections towards the activity of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations. "The system is not developing due to the proliferation of responsible organizations. Collaboration between employers and technical schools must improve."
While coverage in higher education has significantly increased with the private sector's entrance, quality assurance is still not receiving adequate attention. "The environment for the students' independent study has not been uniformly and exemplarily organized across all higher education institutions. The majority of colleges, technical schools, and universities do not consider employers' demands, and some lack the necessary textbooks and literature to meet current requirements," President Mirziyoyev emphasized.
According to the president, over 6 trillion UZS has been allocated to science and innovations in seven years, yet the 'expenditure – research – product' formula in science is not functioning effectively.
In light of these issues, President Mirziyoyev remarked that certain rectors lack initiative, ambition, and devotion. Consequently, a new minister has been appointed to overhaul professional and higher education, tasked with making substantial improvements.
