Uzbekistan's higher education and research system: Main actors and recent reforms of doctoral graduation

The objective of this study is to examine the conditions of higher education and the reform of doctoral graduation in Uzbekistan. The current system operates under strict government control. The President, the Supreme Attestation Commission at the Cabinet of Ministers regulating and monitoring academic graduation, and the relevant ministries fully determine the operation of the higher education and research institutions. State control leaves little room for academic self-rule or self-responsible university education. The teaching obligations of university staff fill the entire working day. This situation makes it almost impossible for university teachers to pursue an individual research agenda. The university system is chronically underfinanced. Technical equipment, library and information technology are not up to international standards, salary is comparably low providing few incentives for young researchers. The Uzbek Academy of Sciences serves as the main pillar of fundamental and applied research in the country. In 2013, doctoral graduation moved from a Soviet-style two-tier system including a PhD and a doctor of science degree to a more anglo-saxonian one-tier PhD system. The new President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced to return to a two-tier system by July 2017 and intends to notably raise the level of international cooperation of Uzbek academic institutions.