"The view that all school graduates should have higher education is wrong" — Kongratbay Sharipov

“The idea that all school graduates must have higher education is wrong,” Kongratbay Sharipov emphasized.

In an interview with Gazeta correspondent at an international conference in Tashkent on August 14, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Kongratbay Sharipov said that over the past four years, the percentage of applicants who failed to score the minimum score in the entrance exams to higher education has decreased from 46 percent to 34 percent.

According to the minister, “The idea that all school graduates must have higher education is wrong. The need for higher education in the labor market is about 30 percent. This is true not only in Uzbekistan, but also throughout the world. The remaining 70 percent of young people can receive secondary specialized education.”

Kongratbay Sharipov (Photo: Ministry of Higher Education) noted that the number of applicants with low scores in entrance exams is decreasing year by year.

“We recently analyzed the results of the last four years. Four years ago, the percentage of applicants who scored below the minimum passing score of 56.7 points was 46 percent, while today this figure has decreased to 34 percent. The number of those who scored above 56.7 points has reached 74 percent. The decrease in the number of young people with low scores is a positive trend and indicates that the quality of education in schools is improving and changes are taking place in the education system,” said Kongratbay Sharipov.

For information, in 2025, the percentage of those who failed to score a passing score was 41.29 percent, and in 2024 it was 46.9 percent.

According to the minister, one of the main tasks now is to train personnel in line with the needs of the labor market and prevent young people from becoming unemployed in the future.

“This year, 36 thousand grant places have been allocated. Also, about 200 thousand students will study on a contract basis. These figures were formed based on the needs of the labor market provided by the Ministry of Economy. We have received specific instructions on the areas and the number of admissions,” he added.

He noted that new areas of study are also being opened in higher education institutions based on the needs of the labor market.

We would like to remind you that in 2018, the State Commission for Admission to Educational Institutions of Uzbekistan set the minimum passing score for the state grant to higher educational institutions of the republic at 68 points (36 percent of the highest passing score of 189 points), and the minimum passing score for the payment contract at 56.7 points (30 percent of the highest passing score).

According to the current regulations, applicants who were not admitted based on the results of the test exams are given the opportunity to study on a differentiated payment contract (super contract) in one of all undergraduate programs selected during registration. Applicants who scored less than the minimum passing score (56.7 points) are also given the right to study in the first academic year, provided that they make a payment equal to 2 times the amount of the super contract.