Education
The education sector is in urgent need of reform and needs higher funding from the government. The new government under Mirziyoyev seems to have recognized this need for reform. According to a somewhat euphoric report by Deutschlandfunk, the country is in the process of comprehensively reforming its education system, opening up science and teaching after 30 years of dictatorship and isolation. In addition, the teaching profession is to be socially upgraded and studies are to be financially supported.
In his ” Education System Analysis 2018″For Uzbekistan, the DAAD names the most important structural problems of the education system:” The national Uzbek higher education system has only existed for almost 25 years, since the country gained state independence on September 1, 1991. All of the country’s universities did not emerge until the 20th century have been shaped by the Soviet system over decades in their structure, their profile, their teaching programs and in their self-image. This legacy (heavy schooling, rigid teaching programs, little developed research) continues to this day. According to estatelearning, the Uzbek government is making great efforts to modernize the national university curricula with the help of international experts. There are state guidelines for internationalization strategies of the Colleges. The serious deficit of this approach is the “top-down approach”, which means that the necessary changes are initiated “from above”. This, in part campaign-like, approach cannot replace the still inadequate cooperation relationships with foreign countries, which have to grow “from below” in direct, collegial contact. ”
The difficult economic situation and the increasing Islamization of society are leading to a decline in the proportion of girls in secondary schools. A labor market oriented practical vocational training is still in construction.
Primary school is attended from the age of 6 and lasts for 4 years, followed by the 7-year secondary level (a section of 5 or 2 years each). The government is trying to avoid budget cuts in the education sector. In recent years, reforms have been made in the education system, such as the introduction of tiered courses based on the American model (Bachelor, Master) and the restructuring of the upper level in schools. An important focus is the numerous new colleges, which give pupils from the 10th grade the possibility of further education combined with professional qualifications. Fundamental problems in the education system are the low salaries of the teachers, the inadequate equipment of the facilities, the supply of teaching materials and the insufficient qualification of the teachers with regard to modern requirements. In 1993, private educational institutions were prohibited by law. This measure was directed against religious schools (madrassas) of the Wahhabis, which had been established with financial aid from Saudi Arabia since 1992. The institutions concerned came under state control. In 1999 the creation of an Islamic university in Tashkent was approved. In 1920, the first Soviet university in Central Asia was founded in Tashkent. Uzbekistan The institutions concerned came under state control. In 1999 the creation of an Islamic university in Tashkent was approved. In 1920, the first Soviet university in Central Asia was founded in Tashkent. Uzbekistan The institutions concerned came under state control. In 1999 the creation of an Islamic university in Tashkent was approved. In 1920, the first Soviet university in Central Asia was founded in Tashkent. The educational landscape is rich in colleges and universities.
Health and welfare
The health care is underfunded. The relatively efficient, highly centralized and subsidized health system in the Soviet Union is barely able to maintain adequate comprehensive health care. Poverty-related diseases such as tuberculosis, but also HIV / AIDS, are on the rise. Some independent experts are sounding the alarm and pointing out catastrophic conditions in the country’s health system.
Uzbekistan has tried to maintain a dense social network despite the system change. Between 1991 and 1994 there was a gradual restructuring of the social security system, in the course of which expenditure was adapted to the state’s reduced financial possibilities. Since 1995, the state has endeavored to improve the targeted nature of social benefits, ie to give up general state grants in favor of aid for groups really in need. These goals were primarily pursued through four socio-political components:
- The Mahalla system
The Uzbek government created the Mahalla system to provide decentralized support to families in need. These are local self-government bodies that receive state funds to redistribute them.
- Support for mothers and children
There are other ways to get public support for families with low-income children:
- One-time payment for the birth of each child (2x minimum wage);
- Child benefit (for under 2 years old at 1.5 times the minimum wage);
- Extra benefits and tax reductions for families with disabled children;
- Support payments for children under 16 years: for the first child 50% of the minimum wage, for the second child 100%, for the third child 140% and from the fourth child 170%);
- Material benefits for families in need, e.g. winter clothing for children.
- The pension system
As in Germany, the state pension system is based on a generation contract: The working population pays for the maintenance of the pension recipients. The elderly (men over 60, women over 55), incapable of work and families who have “lost their breadwinner” are entitled to a pension. Although pensions are generous in relation to previous income, they cannot guarantee a subsistence level given the very low salaries and wages. They are usually 75% of the previous income. The government is currently working on a comprehensive pension reform that should also include options for private retirement provision.
- Unemployment benefit
Shortly after independence, the Uzbek government introduced an employment fund, which is financed from employee contributions amounting to 2.5% of wages. The support the unemployed receive from this fund is so small that only a small proportion of the unemployed even apply for it.
This list gives the impression of a close-knit social network. In fact, the share of public spending in GDP in Uzbekistan has fallen significantly less than the average for the CIS countries. In contrast to most other countries, the share of social spending in the public budget has remained constant. However, if one takes into account the lower GDP, the absolute result is a decrease in public social benefits – a development that runs parallel to the emergence of completely new social problems as a result of the transformation process.
The state still feels obliged to provide social welfare, but cannot meet the widespread need due to limited resources and / or insufficiently targeted allocation. The numbers on malnourished and malnourished children speak for themselves here.
