Career expectations of undergraduate and graduate students at agricultural universities in Uzbekistan

Since national independence, the government of Uzbekistan has been paying attention to developing its education system, including agriculture. A number of regulations have been adopted in order to address the problems in education. Among these, the Law on Education (1997) and the National Training Programme (1997) are the main two regulations adopted to address issues related to the national educational system of Uzbekistan. Nevertheless, a problem of a lack of qualified agricultural personnel in rural areas still exists, and the majority of young cadres try to find jobs in cities. This analytical study aims to analyze the motivation, aspirations, and career expectations of undergraduate and graduate students of Samarkand Agricultural Institute. In the first part of the analytical study, we review the agricultural education system and underlying policies in Uzbekistan by dividing them into pre- and post-independence periods. In the second part, we discuss the survey results of 400 undergraduate and 50 graduate students from Samarkand Agricultural Institute. The results reveal that half of observed students did not make a career choice yet and face uncertainties in employment decisions. Compared with undergraduate students, the share of graduate students wishing to continue their education (doing a PhD) was higher. The following recommendations are given: (i) agricultural vocational/professional colleges and agricultural universities should collaborate in teaching students. Also, college and university staff members should cooperate with industries and farmers to develop employment opportunities for graduates in rural areas. (ii) Economic incentives based on higher wages/salaries are very important to attract more qualified specialists to rural areas, hence policymakers should consider this issue in a broader way. Developing extension service organizations can be an option where qualified staff will be needed. Availability of good rural infrastructure for graduates from agricultural universities can encourage students to stay in rural areas.