Who will study in Uzbekistan on the basis of a state grant

Higher education provides an opportunity for the youth of Uzbekistan to take a worthy place and gain authority in society. The support of persons who have acquired in-depth knowledge at previous stages of continuing education, the use of an objective selection system for this purpose, will optimally attract the best to the socio-economic and engineering-technological spheres: those with good basic knowledge and distinguished by a significant desire for higher education, which most effectively uses human capital.

An important place in this is given to the state grant allocated for higher education. This factor contributes to the effectiveness of training the personnel necessary for the country, increasing the responsibility of universities, as well as the most objective and qualified recruitment of students in popular areas and specialties of higher education.
At the presentation presented to the President on May 6 this year, proposals were discussed to optimize areas of study in higher education, improve admission and qualification systems. The importance of a more rational and fair allocation of state grants was noted. In this regard, it is emphasized that the selection of trained applicants with deep basic knowledge who intend to realize their conscious goal of obtaining a certain specialty seems to be the most promising, and the support of such persons with benefits determines the targeted training of potential specialists. At the same time, instructions were given to ensure transparency and efficiency of the admission process to universities, to review admission quotas for the new 2024/2025 academic year, to improve qualification requirements, with the integration of their content with internationally recognized criteria.
At the presentation, the Head of state pointed out the need to eliminate the significant discrepancy in admission quotas between bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as a more rational adaptation of these levels of higher education to the needs of the modern labor market. In addition, difficulties were noted in the formation of full-fledged qualifications for university graduates, which creates certain problems in their employment. It was instructed to develop appropriate measures for the formation of admission indicators to universities based on objective and reliable supply and demand, with the determination of the real long-term needs of spheres and sectors of the economy in personnel, involving local executive bodies, non-governmental organizations, entrepreneurs and investors for this purpose. It is proposed, based on the needs of employers and the modern development of economic and social sectors, to constructively study and carry out work on the detailed reduction of outdated and the formation of new sought-after areas of higher education.
The large-scale reforms being implemented in our country in almost all sectors of the economy and the social sphere cause a wide need for highly qualified personnel.
As a result of consistent targeted measures, we have managed to achieve some success in a relatively short period of time. In particular, the total number of higher education institutions in the country has reached 211 (in 2016 - 72). At the same time, 67 of them are non-state universities, and 29 are branches of foreign universities. Thanks to this, it was possible to significantly expand the opportunities for higher education in the country. Thus, the total enrollment of young people in higher education in the 2023/2024 academic year was 42 percent, as opposed to nine percent in 2016.
Recently, there has been an increase in the interest of young people in engineering and technical areas of higher education and research activities. This was largely facilitated by an increase in the share of grant admission quotas. Thus, the share of students studying in engineering and technical fields in the 2023/2024 academic year exceeded 35 percent, while in 2019 this figure was only 25 percent. And the share of university graduates who chose research activities after completing their master's degree in 2023 was 35 percent (15 percent in 2019).
In these conditions, the support of government grants to the most prepared, distinguished by significant diligence in training young people, seems to be a very important principle of training professional personnel.
At the last presentation, another innovation was announced: now the state grant will not be provided to one student for all four years of study, but will be redistributed annually among students who have achieved high results. It is no secret that sometimes a student enrolled under a state grant, already in the process of studying at a university, shows negligence and demonstrates a lag in studies. But at the same time, another student, who lacked only a few points before reaching the state grant for admission to the university, surpasses other students with his diligence and academic success. In this case, it seems fair to assign a state grant from the next academic year to a diligent student, and not to a lazy person who has not justified the high trust in him.
This measure will also contribute to the implementation of the principle of social justice, which is always at the center of attention of the head of state. After all, government grants are also a form of financial support for students. They ensure equal opportunities for higher education, regardless of the socio-economic status of citizens, and promote inclusivity.
It should be noted that the presentation emphasized the importance of creating a project office "Center for projects in the field of education", which contributes to ensuring continuity and continuity of preschool, general secondary, vocational and higher education. The project office mainly analyzes the system of training, retraining and advanced training of teaching staff. Among other things, he is engaged in expanding the opportunities for continuing studies in higher education after vocational education, organizing personnel training based on three-year bachelor's degree programs. At the same time, its functions include the preparation of proposals for outsourcing some functions of public administration in the field of education (determining the rating of educational organizations, accreditation of educational programs, and others) to non-governmental organizations, including international ones.
At the presentation, the head of state considered the issue of optimizing the management of higher educational institutions. Thus, the need to review the functions and the presence of a large number of dean's offices and other administrative structures was noted. The instruction was given to completely revise the educational process management system of universities before the new academic year, focusing on the digitalization of management functions.
The Head of State noted the need for compliance of qualification requirements with international standards, certification of qualifications assessment, and gave instructions on the development of qualification standards and their digitalization. To this end, it was decided to create an Institute for the Development of the national qualifications system, which, together with employers, will work on developing the necessary modern qualification requirements.
Summing up the last presentation, it can be stated that its promising goals were the further development of objectivity and social justice in the higher education system, improving the quality of education, and expanding training in the field of engineering and technology.
It is necessary to realize that in the new conditions, the measure of responsibility of heads of higher educational institutions for the results of the educational process is significantly increasing. It should also be noted that the pedagogical, scientific and intellectual potential of higher educational institutions is quite sufficient to achieve their goals. And most importantly, the teaching staff and the university community of the country as a whole have a sincere desire to become an effective driver of training highly qualified personnel. The main criteria for this aspiration should be, first of all, the quality of graduates, their demand in the labor market and high employment rates.

Kongrathbai Sharipov,
Minister of Higher Education,
Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan