Pressing issues in higher education system discussed

On August 6, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a video session to deliberate on the organization of admissions to higher education institutions and preparations for the 2020/2021 academic year.

In recent years, as a result of reforms in the field of higher education, the confidence of young people and parents in this system has increased. The procedures for submitting documents for entry are completely transferred to a remote, online form, creating thus a great deal of convenience for the applicants.

This year, 162,364 students for bachelor’s and 10,425 students for master’s degrees are to be enrolled in Uzbek universities.

A total of 1 million 484 thousand individuals, which is 39 percent up from last year’s numbers, have applied for BA degrees at 91 higher educational institutions in Uzbekistan. It means 10.6 applicants per one place.

78 thousand 720 people have applied for graduate studies in 72 educational institutions, triple the number of contenders last year. In general, however, admission quotas have grown thrice from 2016.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted, among other things, the established procedure for admission to universities. Therefore, today it is necessary to decide when, where and in what order the entrance tests will be conducted and how the educational process will be organized in the upcoming 2020/2021 academic year.

At today’s meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev outlined the range of tasks on the agenda, taking into account the pandemic and its impact.

In particular, it was noted that admission tests should be carried out in places where the epidemiological safety of applicants and observers can be ensured.

Taking into account the fact that closed premises hardly meet epidemiological requirements, nor do they have sufficient capacity to host exams within desired time frames (up to 2 months, experts say) due to the requirement of social distance, the President instructed to organize tests in the central stadiums of Tashkent and the regions. Provided that exams are held twice a day (during cool hours of the day), the entire testing process can be completed within approximately 12-14 days.

Ministries and agencies in charge have been tasked with thoroughly preparing sporting stadiums for testing, informing applicants and their parents about their location.

The head of state stressed that it is crucial to determine the time of the exams building on the conclusions of the Ministry of Health and the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service on the epidemiological situation, to secure public health.

The State Commission for Admission to Educational Institutions, hokimiyats, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard, the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, the State Security Service will take all necessary measures to ensure the transparency of tests and prevent pointless wandering of applicants.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that talented professors and instructors be engaged by the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education to review the current educational process and enrich it with high-quality resources.

It has been determined that by August 25, the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education will create digital methodological guidelines for theoretical and practical classes, as well as curricula adapted to distance learning across all disciplines, of which there are more than 7.2 thousand.

In at least 35 state universities, the first-year education will be organized under a credit-modular system.

“The experience of advanced nations shows that it is difficult to achieve scientific and technological development without adapting educational institutions to the requirements of the time,” President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated.

In this regard, this year, at least 5 higher education institutions in Uzbekistan will undergo a transformation process in cooperation with prestigious foreign universities. The structure and technologies of learning process will be improved, and as a result the establishments will turn into research institutions capable of providing modern education and introducing innovations.

At the end of the meeting, the head of state personally talked with rectors of universities of national significance, listened to the pressing issues they raised, and gave directives to responsible officials for addressing the problems and proposals voiced.