President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was presented with a presentation on priority tasks in the field of higher education and science on January 22. He became acquainted with it.
Great attention is being paid to these directions as the foundation of our country's development. New higher education institutions are opening, and the coverage has significantly expanded. The quality of education processes is being improved.
Last year, undergraduate programs were optimized, and more than 1,200 education programs were adapted to foreign standards. In particular, the qualification requirements for graduates were fully updated, and modern directions such as renewable energy sources, environmental engineering, and biosystems engineering were introduced.
This year, a number of important tasks have been identified. Specifically, more than a thousand education programs will be improved based on the “TOP-300” university programs. 45 education programs will undergo international accreditation. Students will be fully covered by the services of the Registrar's Office at universities. Another 50,000 students will be involved in dual education.
An increase in the scientific potential in higher education to 55 percent, an enhancement of the pedagogical skills of 5,000 abroad is planned. Leading engineering schools will be increased to 25, and the value of projects with industrial enterprises will be aimed to increase tenfold.
At the presentation, officials provided information about the work to be carried out in this regard.
It is known that in the process of admission to higher education, the principle of “test first, then selection” was adopted. State grants will be allocated based on the talents of students. Registrar's Offices were established in 40 financially independent higher education institutions. As a result, staff numbers in deans’ offices and departments decreased by 20 percent, and 30 types of services were digitalized.
Based on this experience, instructions were given to open such offices in other higher education institutions and to introduce a single digital system covering education and science services.
In order to strengthen the alignment with practice, dual education is being introduced. Currently, 15,000 students are connected to 957 companies. However, interest from companies is low. Therefore, proposals were made to incentivize companies participating in dual education.
At the video conference meeting held on June 20, 2024, the head of our state set the task of establishing a technical higher education institution and advanced engineering schools in each region. So far, technical universities in Termez, Andijan, and Karshi have been launched. In addition, 8 engineering schools were opened.
At the meeting, projects for organizing technical universities in Nukus, Bukhara, Fergana, and Namangan were presented. According to it, new directions will be opened, foreign programs will be implemented, students' participation in scientific-innovative processes will be expanded, and industrial partners will be attached to universities.
In general, by merging 35 institutions, 22 technical universities will be established. By the end of this year, another 17 engineering schools will be opened.
In recent years, the scientific potential in higher education institutions has increased from 41 percent to 45 percent. However, most of the scientific research does not cover modern trends in industry and production.
Therefore, instructions were given to focus on the economic driving sectors when distributing the doctoral quota, and to improve the procedures for obtaining scientific degrees and titles. It was emphasized that it is necessary to elevate the professional skills of teachers to a new level.
Morality and sports are also important in youth education. In this regard, initiatives like “Five Initiatives”, “Sharing Knowledge”, “Student Sports League”, “Zakovat” have been launched. Information was provided on measures to completely engage students in such spiritual-enlightenment, sports, and intellectual projects, and to strengthen the spirit of patriotism among the youth.
