HIGHER EDUCATION IN UZBEKISTAN and qualification frameworks Dr.,Prof. Nazokat Kasymova Higher Education Reform Experts team

National education model: levels Educational System model Pre-school Secondary/General school Secondary Specialized and Vocational Education (academic lyceums and professional colleges) Higher Education (undergraduate and postgraduate programs – bachelor’s, master’s and PhD) Out-of-school education (extra-curricula) In-service training and retraining

Regulations of National policy in HE: Law on Education, 1992 Article 7: all EIs are required to provide their programs in accordance with State Educational Standards (SES) Objectives for SES: Ensure high quality of education; Development of QA system in education (incl. EIs attestation/accreditation); Criteria definitions for QA in education; Provide continuous education;

Regulations of National policy in HE: Law on Education, 1992 Objectives for SES: Provide graduates’ competitiveness at labour market; Effective integration of education, research and industry; Ensure harmonization between national and international standards on QA.

Regulations of National policy in HE: SES prescribes the set of standards for: Structure and content of education Curricula/subjects, academic workload, quality of training; Requirements, rules and regulations, IT requirements, teaching methods, as well as specific terms, concepts and categories used in national education system; Assessment procedures and evaluation; Competences of students at each education level.

Regulations of National policy in HE: HE development concept,1996 The National Program for Personnel Training, 1997 (system of continuous education, professional re-training and advanced training; new HE financing system – budget in the form of state grants and private sources in the form of contracts; new system of compulsory secondary specialized education (3 years); transition to two-cycle HE system)

Regulations of National policy in HE: Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers “On development and introduction of educational standards to the system of continuous education” (1998): set specific qualifications framework for all specialties or “Renewed Classifier of main working and serving professions” and “Classifier of directions and specialties in higher education” (descriptors knowledge and skills in general)

Regulations of National policy in HE: Presidents’ Decree on Strengthening of HEIs facilities/equipment/ technical infrastructure and quality improvement in training, 20 May 2011/“Program on modernization of HEIs and quality improvement in specialists training for 2011-2016” (modernization strategy for HE, Quality Assurance in HE, SES improvement; governance process improvement in HE, strengthening of coordination between academic field and industry, IT development (textbooks, manuals, e-materials), establishment of MHSSE corporate information system + introduction of 3-cycle system, 25 March 2013).

Regulations of National policy in HE: Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution “On approval of state education standards of higher education”, 10 January 2015 Requirements for higher education qualifications placed in a separate document; Renewed Classifier of directions and specialties in HE (Bachelor’s directions/fields: from 228 to 201, Master’s: from 1200 to 452 due to consolidation of related professions and cancellation of uncalled specialties);

Regulations of National policy in HE: Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution “On approval of state education standards of higher education”, 10 January 2015 State Education Standards, Curriculums and Programs in HE were improved based on changes and adds to the Classifier; Qualification requirements to PhD renewed in accordance with international standards; SES are scaled-up and cover 26 areas of education; New Classifier of professions (19 June 2015) with 8395 units.

National qualifications and European Qualifications Framework (EQF): apparent comparison Q.level EU (Germany) Uzbekistan 1 Pre-professional training , primary school 2 Pre-professional training , secondary school 3 Two-year professional education (school, gymnasia- 1-2 years ) 4 Basic professional education (gymnasia, college - 3-3.5 years) Secondary special professional education (academic lyceum, professional college – 3 years) 5 Advanced professional education (college, some HEIs - high-tech fields) 6 Bachelor, technologist (HEIs, some colleges ) Bachelor (HEIs) 7 Masters, strategic specialist (HEIs) Master (HEIs) 8 PhD, Doctor of Science (HEIs) PhD (HEIs)

Qualification Frameworks: Uzbekistan’s practice National qualification system became more flexible, substantial/appropriate and responsive to labor market conditions, structural changes and industry-specific features; National qualification frameworks will be on the agenda as the most effective tool to ensure the integration and unification of qualifications.

Central Asian Education Platform launched in February 2012; 2nd phase of CAEP is running from March 2015 to March 2018, is a key pillar of the European Education Initiative for CA to promote policy dialogue and support reforms in the education sector within the CA through regional and national seminars; studies; mapping.

National Qualification Frameworks: Guidelines for development and recognition of qualifications (NURSLING) 2015-2018: The project's specific objectives are: to propose improvement of national General Regulations concerning education standards in particular fields (IT), on the basis of qualification framework ideas, Bologna principles and the EU universities’ experience, to elaborate new national standards on informatics in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan: challenges in HE (NQFs) HE system needs to modernize to better adapt to real needs of the country’s economy due to “it is characterized by low access and concerns about the quality and relevance of the skills of its graduates” It found also a substantial mismatch between qualifications of graduates and employer needs, so graduates are often employed outside of their area of study (e.g. only 57 percent of graduates in education get a job in their sector).

Uzbekistan: opportunities in HE (NQFs) Develop legal and regulatory structure of the National qualification frameworks on the basis of study and best practices; Create educational institutions of various forms of ownership (mainly for adult education) and incorporate them into the overall system of the NQFs (with assigning of the appropriate level of training based on educational criteria); Introduce a system of assigning qualification level to graduates according to the NQFs for all education institutions (together with a certificate/or diploma issued);

Uzbekistan: opportunities in HE (QFs): Achieve adaptive compatibility of the NQFs with qualification frameworks of other countries; Attract international organizations into the process of development of the NQFs in Uzbekistan; Establish inter-sectoral structures/WG to coordinate development/implementation of the NQFs; Promote methodology and benefits of NQFs among decision-makers, HEIs and public.

References: National Programme on Personnel Training (1997) On amendments and additions to the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers adopted on August 16, 2001 № 343 “On approval of the state higher education standards”, (№3, 10.01.2015), Collection of Laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2015, #2, pg. 21 On development and introduction of educational standards to the system of continuous education (1998), Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, #5 On education (1992), Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Bulletin of the OliyMajlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, #9 Comparative report on organization of qualifications in education system in Uzbekistan, A. Khodjaev – NURSLING, Aug.2016