On April 30, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation outlining plans to improve the system of non-state educational services and enhance the quality of higher and vocational education.

The development of key economic sectors and the investment climate is closely tied to the workforceʼs capabilities. As a result, the higher and vocational education system is undergoing continuous reforms.

In recent years, expanded opportunities for private sector involvement in education have led to establishing 71 private universities and 51 private technical schools. These institutions now serve nearly 500,000 students. As a result, the countryʼs higher education enrollment rate has risen significantly, from 9 percent to 42 percent.

While these reforms have enabled many young people to pursue vocational and higher education, the quality of education is not uniformly ensured across all non-state educational institutions.

Improving admission standards, academic programs, teaching processes, and faculty qualifications—while aligning them with modern labor market needs—has become a key priority.

Therefore, during the presentation, proposals were discussed to regulate non-state educational services, improve the licensing system, and introduce a new system for state accreditation.

These proposals include transitioning to a two-tier licensing model based on international best practices, introducing specialized accreditation procedures for academic programs, and conducting comprehensive state accreditation every five years.

A key initiative under consideration is the creation of an independent authority responsible for the external evaluation of education quality. Inspired by leading international practices, this authority would oversee the implementation of a transparent, impartial, and fair quality control system.

The introduction of external evaluation and quality assurance is expected to enhance teaching effectiveness and academic capacity in vocational and higher education institutions, and improve their standing in international rankings.