Theme: higher education in uzbekistan

THEME: HIGHER EDUCATION IN UZBEKISTAN
The Ministry of Higher and Specialized Secondary Education is responsible for the higher education system and its restructuring. During the transition period, higher education was hindered by a shortage of laboratories, libraries, computers, data banks, and publishing facilities to disseminate research findings; however, progress can also be seen. There are 62 higher education institutions, including 2 academies (in Uzbekistan, as it was in the Soviet system, the word academia means the top-level research and educational institutions), 16 universities (universitet), and 44 institutes (institut). In 1999 to 2000 the system provided education to about 166,000 students.
The Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences is the leading institution in all types of research. Only top graduate studies can be conducted within the Academy. Universities and institutes are both research and educational institutions. Universities are educational institutions responsible for the preparation of skilled professors and teachers, as well as academic staff and researchers in a variety of disciplines. Institutes are responsible for the preparation of various specialists.
Institutions of higher education belong to different Ministries:

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  The Ministry of Higher Education administers 32 universities and institutes to offer students a variety of programs including economics, engineering, finance, languages, oriental studies, architecture, chemistry, and technology.
  
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  The Ministry of Public Education administers six institutes for the training of teachers in elementary, secondary, and higher education.
  
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  The Ministry of Health administers seven institutes for medical and pharmaceutical training.
  
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  The Ministry of Agriculture administers four institutes for training students in agriculture, agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and economics.
  
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  The Ministry of Justice administers one law institute in Tashkent.
  
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  The Ministry of Culture administers three institutes for the study of art, music, theater, and cinema of which all are in Tashkent.
  
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  In Samarkand, Uzbekbirlashov, the cooperative company administers the Cooperative institute.
  

Finally, there is the Uzbek State Institute for Physical Training, the Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers, the Institute for Civil Aviation, and the University of World Economics and Diplomacy. The latter comes under the auspices of the President and prepares students majoring in journalism, world diplomacy, and economics.
The number of majors offered in higher education in Uzbekistan is over 270, and the number of specialties is over 600. The Soviet-style higher education system differed greatly from the western model. A five-year education was equal to the Master's degree level in the West, for example. Today this causes confusion in recalculating the degrees. Educational authorities therefore decided to adopt the western system and reduce higher education programs to four years. According to some sources, the transition from five-years of higher education to the international system with Bachelor's (four years) and Master's degrees (two years) has been completed. However, according to American Council for Collaboration in Education and Language Study (ACCELS) administering the American Educational Advising Center (EAC) in Tashkent, only some of the accredited higher education institutions have changed. One example is the University of World Economics and Diplomacy that offers Bachelor's degrees after four years of study and Master's degrees after two additional years of study. Medical institutes have five to six year programs depending on specialty.
In Uzbekistan, all universities and institutes are public. Private institutions of higher education are not yet available. To be admitted to university-level studies, an individual must complete any form of secondary school and have either a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education or a Diploma equal to this certificate. Because higher education in the Soviet system was free and the government provided assistance in the form of stipends, the demand for the university seats was always very high. Thousands of people competed for the limited slots (sometimes over 10 candidates per slot). This system allowed universities and institutes to select the best individuals by giving entrance exams, but caused millions to be deprived of the opportunity for higher education. Additionally, admission occurred only once a year for the same program. Unfortunately, results of these examinations and selections were too often influenced by high-ranking officials and senior leaders trying to help their youngsters. This was the area where nepotism, clannishness, and even corruption were normal. This caused even the most talented and gifted school graduates to be rejected.
Since 1993, entrance exams have been changed to tests. All entrance tests take place simultaneously on 1 August throughout the republic. Admission to higher educational institutions is based primarily on merit. However, in some institutions, authorities require an interview to determine the student's aptitude and motivation in a given field. Universities and institutes also require a basic medical check to ensure that students are free from all types of infections and fit to pursue their studies.
Traditionally, universities and institutes were divided into fakultets. Facultets are like schools (of business or of education, for example) in American universities. They are structural units reflecting major fields of specialization. Fakultet is further divided into specific kafedras or chairs (departments) dedicated to narrower specialties. As an example, it may be the German language kafedra (chair) and French language kafedra (chair) within the fakultet of Foreign languages. The latter may belong to the Pedagogical Institute that also has a facultet of physics and math (educating teachers of physics and math), a facultet of geography (educating teachers of geography), and a fakultet of biology (educating teachers of biology). Each institution of higher education is headed by a rector with the fakultets led by deans and the kafedras (chairs) led by chair chiefs.
In addition to normally enrolled students, universities and institutes often accept some candidates with marginal scores compared to the already enrolled students that can replace poor performing students or possible dropouts. Teaching styles and techniques at the higher education level differ greatly from, for example, a pure lecture style to absolute improvisation. Using technology, such as TVs and VCRs, is possible (if the equipment is available), but computers and LCD projectors are quite rare because of the high cost, inferior maintenance structure, and high probability of theft. In the Soviet system, studying in the institutions of higher education was free of charge, and moreover, the government paid students some stipends. These stipends covered at least some of life's expenses because students did not have any time for work. Many students had to have their parents' support or work at night to sustain them.
Since 1995, due to the processes of democratization, many institutions introduced admission on a contractual basis with tuition charges paid by the student. In the 1999 to 2000 academic year 25 higher education institutions ad