A new leader in the education sector, discounted "electricity" for the population without gas - weekly digest

New head appointed to the education system, discounted "electricity" for off-grid population — weekly digest

Erkinjon Turdimov — Minister of Education and Science

Strategically, there are very few sectors that equal education. This direction, which shapes the future of the country, has now been united into a single vertical at all stages. By presidential decree, the Ministry of Education and Science was established on the basis of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

According to the official explanation, the purpose of this decision is to establish an integrated system of education, upbringing, and science based on modern requirements, and to bring work on improving the quality of education and human capital to a new stage. In particular, raising the qualifications of educators in kindergartens, updating textbooks in school education, and in higher education, strengthening the independence of universities and expanding opportunities for the private sector were identified as priority tasks.

Four key individuals can be highlighted as mainly responsible for the implementation of the reform: Saida Mirziyoyeva, Obid Hakimov, Erkinjon Turdimov, and Zafar Hoshimov.

Head of the Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva and her new deputy for educational reforms Obid Hakimov will monitor the implementation of the assigned tasks.

Erkinjon Turdimov, who previously served as governor in four regions, will hold a special status in the government as First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Education and Science; the healthcare sector will also be part of his secretariat in the Cabinet of Ministers.

As a reminder, the post of First Deputy Prime Minister was abolished at the end of 2022.

57-year-old Erkinjon Turdimov, who possesses a unique political career, stood out from other governors recently due to his frequent emphasis on education issues in his speeches. For example, in his speech at the National Forum of Teachers in August, he called for not being afraid of novelty and giving freedom to children.

“A computer was standing [at school], but when children were graduating, they didn’t even know how to turn on the computer. Now, even though many of those graduates might be principals, they don't even know how to turn on a computer. That's how a person who is not interested, a person who is afraid of novelty, becomes. A person who is not afraid of novelty creates novelty. In general, a person striving to create novelty creates the future.

[...] We must give freedom to children. If necessary, we should even use children's playfulness, we must give them direction. We shouldn't put everyone inside a frame by saying, ‘walk like this, stand like this, do like this’. Then we won't be able to get out of the frame.

What will happen tomorrow in 10 years? What will happen in 20 years? What will our children do? What happens in 10 years, in 15 years — it is all in your and my hands, especially in the hands of education devotees. If we cling to our chair saying ‘don't touch me, I won't touch you’, the more you cling to that chair, the faster you will leave it.”

In one of his meetings with the public in August, Turdimov also emphasized the importance of education and called on parents to do homework together with their children.

“Only knowledge will save us. Studying well at school, mastering advanced technologies — our children will lead us forward thanks to this. Whoever invests in their children, whoever educates their children, that person will be respected. People will carry them on their hands, saying ‘he is his father’. If one doesn't invest in their child and leaves them in poverty, that child will bring trouble.

Therefore, whether we like it or not, we must educate our children. We must study together; even if our brain doesn't work, we must force ourselves. This thing stands before us, we have no other choice.”

Zafar Hoshimov, the well-known entrepreneur mentioned above and founder of the Korzinka supermarket chain, became the head of a special working group being formed under the Presidential Administration on a public basis.

The working group will develop a nationwide concept on human capital development and lifelong education strategy. For this, it is planned to involve experienced entrepreneurs, industry specialists, scientists, and international experts in the group. Expressing gratitude for the confidence shown, Zafar Hoshimov noted that during his activities he has been participating in educational initiatives as a board member of Teach For Uzbekistan, one of the founders of TEAM University, and an honorary member of the team at Westminster International University in Tashkent.

Long-awaited discount

Residents living in non-gasified areas will receive a discount on electricity payments during the heating season. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved this proposal at a meeting on October 6.

From now on, during the heating season in non-gasified areas and regions where gas has not reached, the baseline standard for electricity will be raised from 200 kWh to 350 kWh.

What does this mean in practice? Considering that the base tariff is 650 soums, and 900 soums up to 500 kWh after that, the monetary value of the discount given to residents of non-gasified areas is 37,500 soums per month.

Considering that this change has not yet taken the form of an official document, a small figure can be added: if the baseline electricity standard during the heating season for non-gasified areas is increased to 400 kWh instead of the expected 350, at current tariffs the discount value would equal exactly 50,000 soums.

As announced at Tuesday's meeting, the practice of covering part of the excess consumption costs over the base limit for electricity and gas for families included in the Social Register is planned to continue until April 1, 2028. It is calculated that 470,000 families per year will benefit from these compensation payments.

The decline in gas production could not be stopped this year either

At a time when the first cool days of autumn signal the approach of winter, unpleasant news emerged for drivers whose cars run on methane: Uzbekistan's main gas-producing company will not be able to fulfill its plan this year either.

It turned out that gas production in the "Uzbekneftegaz" system is expected to decrease by almost 10 percent by the end of the year. According to First Deputy Chairman of the company Sukhrob Khamroyev, 22.8 billion cubic meters of gas will be produced this year. This is 2.4 billion cubic meters, or 9.5 percent less than the 2025 volume.

At the October 6 meeting, Chairman of the company Abdugani Sanginov reported that 5 new gas fields were discovered and 80 wells were drilled since the beginning of the year. It should be noted that in his January presentation, Sanginov took on a big goal of stopping the negative dynamics in the gas industry and producing 25.2 billion cubic meters of gas this year. In reality, by October it became clear that the plan was revised and lowered by 10 percent.

As for Uzbekistan's second-largest gas producer — Russian "LUKOIL", its production indicators are unknown. The company's founder Vagit Alekperov met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Monday to discuss plans for the development of promising hydrocarbon fields and the expansion of the gas station network. A notable aspect of this meeting is that the deadline given by the US Treasury Department for "LUKOIL" to find a buyer for its assets outside Russia expires on October 22.

Against the background of a 20 percent decline in gas production over the last two years, the government intends to switch regions that are difficult for gas to reach to electricity. According to a presidential decree signed two weeks ago, a "Concept for electrifying areas difficult to reach with natural gas" must be developed by next spring with the participation of international consultants. Within the framework of the concept, alongside preferential tariffs for electricity, measures to support buyers of energy-efficient household appliances are also envisaged.

Visas for Sharm El Sheikh and crimes in Latvia

Traveling to Sharm El Sheikh, one of the most popular tourist destinations among Uzbeks, will no longer be as easy as before. The point is that until now, citizens of Uzbekistan could travel to Cairo and most other cities in Egypt with a visa, and to the resort city of Sharm El Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula without a visa. From November 1, this partial visa-free regime is being canceled.

According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Cairo, starting November 1, Uzbek citizens will need to obtain a visa in advance to travel to any part of Egypt. In addition, tourists will be able to travel to Egypt only through authorized tour operators, not independently.

The list of new requirements does not end there: individuals under 40 can travel to Egypt only with their parents, spouse, or children, provided the family possesses at least $5,000 in cash. People over 40 can travel alone, and they must have at least $3,000 in cash. Upon entering Egypt, in addition to a visa and cash, document confirming a hotel reservation and mobile connection details must be presented. Furthermore, a tourist visa cannot be converted into another type of visa during the stay in Egypt.

After such major obstacles, the Sharm El Sheikh direction will definitely lose its former attractiveness in outbound tourism. A similar situation recently occurred with Thailand as well. After the Thai government canceled the visa-free regime for many countries, including Uzbekistan, starting September 15, according to Aviasales data, travel bookings by Uzbeks to Thailand fell by 84 percent.

In addition, malfunctions were reported this week in the electronic system issuing Thai visas. Reports spread on social media that visas were not issued at the expected time, and some travelers waited for their visas until the last hours, even going to the airport, only to return home. The Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Bangkok confirmed technical glitches on the Thai E-Visa website and announced that although a 10-day period is indicated on the site, in practice, after a $40 payment is made, the visa is issued in an average of 15 days.

Last week it became known that the issue of restricting visa issuance to citizens of Uzbekistan was raised in Latvia as well. According to a report on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia, Minister Janis Dombrava came forward with a proposal to temporarily suspend the issuance of visas to Uzbek citizens. The reason cited was that several citizens of Uzbekistan committed crimes, particularly crimes against minors, shortly after arriving in Latvia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan informed that after this proposal was raised in Riga, Uzbek diplomats entered into negotiations, and in the end, the Latvian side stated that there was no need to change the existing procedure, meaning that the potential problem was reportedly averted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan urged compatriots to obey the laws of that country and be responsible when traveling abroad.

As for the crimes that served as the basis for the Latvian minister's proposal, according to a Kun.uz investigation, two cases were recorded in September alone. First, in Jelgava, a 39-year-old Uzbek citizen was detained on suspicion of committing sexual acts against a young child in a playground and was remanded in custody by court order. Shortly after, at a shopping center in the capital Riga, another citizen of Uzbekistan allegedly offered sexual acts to two young girls in exchange for money. Investigations into both cases are ongoing.

Another incident occurred in March 2025 in the city of Carnikava. According to the indictment, two Uzbek citizens fed a swan swimming in the river and pulled it out of the water. One of them broke the swan's neck and punched it on the head. Then they put the bird in a black trash bag and carried it away in the trunk of a car. This incident occurred in front of three minors. Two Uzbeks were sentenced to almost 4 years of probation supervision in the case; the fact that they escaped without any fines or imprisonment sparked discussions in the Latvian public. Following the objections, the residency rights of these two individuals in Latvia were revoked.

What else happened this week?

Leaders of Central Asia and Azerbaijan gathered for the next Consultative Meeting.

At the summit held in the "Avaza" tourist zone in Turkmenistan, presidents of six countries exchanged views on further strengthening regional cooperation.

According to the President of Uzbekistan, there is no desire to create large and complex structures within the framework of the regional process. Shavkat Mirziyoyev said we need a flexible and understandable format. On the day following the Consultative Meeting, a CIS summit was also held, where it was decided that the chairmanship of the organization will pass to Uzbekistan starting January 1. The 2027 summit of the Commonwealth will be held on October 8-9 in Bukhara.

Coverage of part of the tuition payments for children of doctors has begun.

Under this, up to 30 percent of undergraduate tuition fees for children of medical and pharmaceutical workers who have worked in state medical institutions for at least 15 years are covered by the state budget.

A similar privilege is set to be applied to children of educators starting from the current academic year.

Notably, unlike medical workers, a specific length of service is not required from educators; additionally, educators in the private sector can also benefit from this privilege.

Hundreds of students at Tashkent State Technical University were thrown out into the street at night.

300 students from regions studying at several universities in the capital, mainly the technical university, were turned out of the building on the evening of October 6, even though they had paid for the dormitory.

According to officials, the newly built student dormitory based on a public-private partnership does not yet have a cadet document and necessary permits have not been obtained, and students were accepted there informally and arbitrarily. The evicted students spent that night in a hostel or at acquaintances' places; later it was reported they were placed in other dormitories and rented apartments.

Blogger Sirojiddin Odilov was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment.

Sirojiddin Odilov, author of the "Sirojiddin Media" channel on YouTube, was found guilty by the Mirzachul District Court of extortion in one episode and fraud in two episodes.

It is reported that he fully compensated the 75 million soums damage caused to three individuals recognized as victims. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment. A statement from the Jizzakh Region courts states that this criminal case is not related to Odilov's activity on social media.

Nearly 600 trees were illegally uprooted in the Tashkent region.

In an incident that occurred in the Gazalkent neighborhood of the Bostanlyk district, an entrepreneur illegally uprooted 586 trees on a 2-hectare plot of land.

According to the Ecology Committee, the entrepreneur attempted to resist, disobeying the lawful demands of the competent authority, and his actions were ultimately put to an end by the eco-police. Damage caused to nature as a result of the violation was estimated at 1.7 billion soums. At the end of the investigation, the compiled documents will be sent to the prosecutor's office.