Uzbekistan Quality Job Creation as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Economic Growth

Figure 3.5: Gross Enrollment Rates, Uzbekistan, 2012–2017 
(%)
Figure 3.6: Acceptance at Higher Education Institutions, Uzbekistan, 
1996–2018
0
60
40
20
80
100
120
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
2012
96.1
91.8
8.0
97.3
91.5
8.1
98.1
91.7
8.1
99.4
91.6
8.2
101.0
92.4
8.4
103.1
93.0
9.2
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
University applicants
(LHS)
Number of students
(LHS)
Share of acceptance
(RHS)
0
400
300
200
100
500
600
700
800
0
40
30
20
10
50
1996
199
2002
2005
2008
2011
2014
2018
Thousand
Percent

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Uzbekistan Quality Job Creation as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Economic Growth
on a paid-fee basis (through individual contracts),
9
and the share increases 
to 75% at the graduate level (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018).
From the 2017/18 
school year, universities in Uzbekistan are allowed to admit additional students 
at a higher contract rate called the “super-contract.” Additional admission is 
executed in accordance with the order of applicants who do not have the 
required number of points (at least 68 points) to be admitted on a regular 
contract base, and their willingness to pay the higher contract rates. The higher 
rates are established by the State Commission, depend on the applicant’s score, 
and vary from 1.5 to 10 times the established contract rate depending on the 
institution. The introduction of the “super contract” raises at least two issues: 
it undermines the concept of minimum knowledge requirements for university 
applicants, which negatively affects the quality of higher education; and it will 
increase the gap in terms of affordability and access to higher education for 
students from households in the lower consumption quintiles. 
With the increased costs of higher education, concerns about quality, and 
difficulties associated with admission, more students are choosing to study 
abroad. Since 2012, the number of international students from Uzbekistan has 
increased from 19,000 to more than 33,000. More than half of the students 
who studied abroad during 2011–2016 chose the Russian Federation, with 
Kazakhstan and the Ukraine next (Figure 3.7). This is understandable because 
Russian is the language of instruction in these countries and proficiency in 
9
Students can study at an HEI with fees paid by the government and with 5 years subsequent compulsory 
employment in the public sector, and through individual contracts that are paid by students’ families or 
private companies.
Note: No data for Malaysia for 2013, Russian Federation for 2013, and Ukraine for 2012 and 2013. 
Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics. http://uis.unesco.org/ (accessed 7 August 2019).