"There is no need to open a new university now." Minister of Higher Education on private universities, exams and admission quotas

“There is no need to open a new university now,” the Minister of Higher Education said about private universities, exams and admission quotas.

The capacity of existing higher education institutions in Uzbekistan fully covers all needs. This was stated by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Kungirotboy Sharipov in an interview with the “Daryo” correspondent on the sidelines of an international conference held in Tashkent on August 14.

At an international conference dedicated to the development of higher education services, the Minister, answering a question about the increased competition in the field of higher education, but the suspension of licensing of private universities in recent years, noted that today the existing universities cover all needs.

"Currently, the capacity of our existing universities is sufficient to meet all the needs of the labor market. Those who scored above 56.7 points are entering higher education. Today, we have more than 256 thousand students. The capacity of our existing universities can provide this. I believe that today there is no need to open more universities. Because if new ones are opened, there may be more universities that provide poor-quality education. We do not need universities to forcefully educate young people who scored below 56.7 points after they are full," the minister said.

He also noted the need to place more emphasis on vocational education in the country, and that technical schools are being transformed into international-level institutions.

In particular, he said that this year 100 technical schools in Uzbekistan will be brought to such a level that graduates will be able to find high-paying jobs not only in Uzbekistan, but also abroad.

"After graduating tomorrow, a graduate can work not only in Uzbekistan, but also in more than 70 countries around the world based on his diploma. The current salary of welders is at least $1.5 thousand. At the international level, it is up to $2 thousand. Plumbers are also being offered very high salaries. Electricians are being offered high salaries. We have professions that pay more than even those with higher education.

This does not mean that you will remain a plumber for life. If in two or three years he says that he will study in higher education, he can enter a university based on an interview and continue his education from the second stage. That is why a continuous education system has been created now," explained Kungirotboy Sharipov.

Kungirotboy Sharipov said that after the mandate came out, many people began to worry about failing the exam, and this year there was an opportunity to enter five universities at once, and there was a proposal to add one more.

The Minister added that if young people cannot enter education even after taking advantage of all these opportunities, they should definitely choose vocational education and thus transfer to higher education in their field after 1-2 years.

The Minister, referring to the fact that applicants are not able to score the minimum score in the exams and the issue of improving the exams, stated that not all school graduates need to have higher education, and that the main need in the global labor market is for personnel with secondary specialized education.

"We analyzed our young people who scored a minimum of 56.7 points. Four years ago, their share was 46 percent. Today, it is 34 percent. The share of low scores is decreasing year by year. Today, 74 percent of applicants have scored above 56.7. This is good news, the number of our young people with low scores is decreasing. So, we can conclude that the quality of education at school is improving," said the Minister of Higher Education.

At the same time, he stressed the need to train personnel suitable for the labor market today so that young people do not remain unemployed tomorrow, adding that this year 36 thousand grant places and about 200 thousand contract places have been allocated from the state budget based on the needs of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Touching upon the requirements for private and public universities and the issue of creating equal conditions, Kungirotboy Sharipov noted that competition means that each higher education institution must provide a specialist with guaranteed employment.

“Competition means that each higher education institution must prepare personnel suitable for the market and provide tomorrow’s specialists with guaranteed employment. The biggest criterion before us is the employment of graduates. Whether they teach well or poorly, the people or employers will judge,” the minister concluded.

According to him, measures will be taken to merge or close universities with graduate employment rates below a certain percentage.

According to the minister, currently, the same requirements are being ensured for admission, specializations, and evaluation in private and public universities.