On April 30, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on issues of completion of the current academic year, organization of final and admissions exams amid the lockdown and its aftermath.

In light of the pandemic, the learning process in Uzbekistan has been built on distance technologies, 500 thousand students and 7 million pupils from more than 10 thousand educational institutions are covered by online lessons. This new mechanism ensures uninterrupted learning.

Now the challenge is the quality of completion of the academic year. Taking into account the experience of foreign countries and the current situation, it is planned to conduct final exams at higher education institutions using online format.

The President gave instructions on the quality organization of these processes.

The head of our state noted the necessity of improving the system of reception of admission documents (applications) to educational institutions, creating the possibility of filing documents remotely, via the internet. The public will be informed in detail about the new procedures and amenities.

Responsible officials were urged to ensure the arrangement of entrance exams this year in a simplified form.

Currently, there are four Presidential and nine artistic creative schools in Uzbekistan. This year it is planned to commission 5 more Presidential and 2 new creative schools. Shavkat Mirziyoyev insisted that their construction be completed on time.

Due to the pandemic, the concept of social distance has firmly entered our lives. In this regard, the need for revision of standards for capacity in educational institutions, especially in schools, was indicated.

We absolutely have no right, under the pretext of the pandemic, to postpone work designed to improve the education system, the President emphasized.

The head of our state stressed the necessity of reviewing the training hours and curricula with an eye to specifics of circumstances, and of increasing attention to the formation of practical skills in universities.

The Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education along with the State Inspectorate for Education Quality Monitoring under the Cabinet of Ministers have been instructed to provide institutions with the right to independently determine work plans and programs based on labor market demand and employer requests. It is also essential to develop a mechanism for monitoring curricula compliance with established requirements.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev underscored the importance of getting rid of obsolete ‘methodologies’, such as lecturing from paper, writing abstracts under tutor’s rambling dictation. Modern educational methods ought to be devised and the professional qualities of teachers be raised, the head of state suggested.

In this regard, the ministries of public education, higher and secondary special education were advised to gradually establish distance education for teachers and remote monitoring of lessons, as well as minimize the human factor in assessing knowledge.

It is crucial to improve the system for identifying and professional orientation of gifted youth, the President said. He indicated to intensify selection work, revise the activities of lyceums, given that their syllabi should stand out qualitatively in comparison with those in schools.

Earlier, it was decided to create a new type of vocational schools, colleges and technical schools from the next academic year. Meanwhile, the shortcomings of the old college system must be taken into account, it was emphasized in particular. In this regard, the head of our state set the task of establishing one exemplary professional school, college and technical school in each region.

Responsible executives presented information on the work carried out and the upcoming plans in fulfillment of the objectives set at the meeting.