Uzbekistan Modernizing Tertiary Education - …

1 Report No. 88606-UZ Uzbekistan Modernizing Tertiary Education June 2014 Human Development Sector Unit Central Asia Country Unit Europe and Central Asia Region Document of the World Bank 2 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CER Center for Economic Research CIS Commonwealth of Independent States ECA Europe and Central Asia ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System EHEA European Higher Education Area EQAR European Quality Assurance Register GDP Gross Domestic Product GII Global Innovation Index GNI Gross National Income GoU Government of Uzbekistan HE Higher Education HEI Higher Education Institution HEMIS

2 Higher Education Management Information System MHSSE Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education MLSP Ministry Labor and Social Protection MOOCs Massive Open Online Courses OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development QA Quality Assurance QAA Quality Assurance Agency QECs Quality Enhancement Cells SES State Educational Standards SET Science, Engineering, and Technology SSE Specialized Secondary Education STC State Testing Centre TE Tertiary Education TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UNDP United Nations Development Program Vice President: Laura Tuck Country Director: Saroj Kumar Jha Country Manager: Takuya Kamata Sector Manager: Alberto Rodriguez Task Team Leader: Naveed Hassan Naqvi 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements.

3 8 Executive Summary .. 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION - WHY DOES Tertiary Education MATTER FOR Uzbekistan ? .. 14 A. Country and Sector Context .. 14 B. Analytical Framework for Analyzing the Tertiary Education Sector .. 18 CHAPTER 2: EXTERNAL LINKS - HOW WELL DOES THE Tertiary Education SYSTEM CONTRIBUTE TO THE BROADER ECONOMY? .. 20 A. Tertiary Education and the Labor Market .. 20 The structure of the economy has changed in recent years .. 20 The supply of skilled workers has stagnated .. 22 Demand for skilled labor has grown faster than supply .. 25 Skills mismatches are evident in the Uzbek labor market .. 26 B. Tertiary Education and the Innovation Ecosystem: The Ideas Game.

4 35 Innovation and Technological Change are Critical Contributors to Economic Growth and 35 Uzbekistan s economy lags behind in innovation .. 37 CHAPTER 3: INTERNAL MANAGEMENT - HOW EFFECTIVELY IS THE Tertiary Education SYSTEM ORGANIZED?.. 45 A. Access to Tertiary Education .. 45 Tertiary enrolment rates in Uzbekistan are among the lowest in the world .. 45 4 Gender disparities in Tertiary enrolment are among the highest in the region .. 48 Enrolment patterns are misaligned with the needs of the evolving economy .. 49 B. Governance of Tertiary Education .. 52 The National Vision for Higher Education and the Supporting Legal Framework Need to be Consolidated.

5 53 Management of the Tertiary Sector is fragmented .. 54 Uzbek HEIs have Restricted Autonomy in Several Key Areas .. 57 Leadership and Management in Uzbek HEIs .. 57 Freedom to Set Human Resource Policies in Uzbek HEIs .. 58 Academic and Administrative Autonomy .. 59 Financial Autonomy .. 62 C. Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education .. 62 Trends in Global Quality Assurance .. 63 Current Quality Assurance Norms in Uzbekistan Fall Short of International Best Practices .. 66 State Education Standards .. 67 Student Admissions and Assessment System .. 68 Teaching Quality Assessment 69 Attestation and Accreditation of HEIs .. 70 Decree on University Rankings.

6 71 D. Higher Education Financing .. 72 Public Spending on Tertiary Education is Low in International Terms .. 73 There has been more private financing of higher Education in recent .. 75 Tuition fee levels have risen sharply for contract students .. 77 The composition of expenditures is not aligned with the needs of a modern higher Education system .. 80 Student Stipends .. 81 Faculty Salaries .. 82 Capital Investment .. 85 5 CHAPTER 4: THE WAY FORWARD - OPTIONS FOR Modernizing AND IMPROVING THE Tertiary Education .. 87 A. Developing a Medium-Term Strategy for the Higher Education Sector 87 B. Expanding Equitable Access.

7 88 C. Improving System Governance .. 89 D. Modernizing Quality Assurance .. 90 E. Reforming Financing Systems .. 91 F. Fostering Innovation and Improving Market Linkages .. 92 Table of Figures Figure 1: Shares of Tertiary Students by Topic of Study, 2011/12 academic year .. 16 Figure 2: Exports and Imports in Uzbekistan , 1992 and 17 Figure 3: The Analytical Framework .. 19 Figure 4: The Structure of the Economy Has Changed but the Higher Education Sector Has Not .. 20 Figure 5: Uzbekistan s Demographic Window .. 21 Figure 6: Annual Number of Tertiary Graduates as a Share of Population and the Tertiary Gross Enrolment Rate in Uzbekistan , 1991-2012.

8 23 Figure 7: Employer Responses to Skills Shortages in Uzbekistan and Comparator Countries .. 26 Figure 8: Actual and Projected Employment Totals by Sector, 1990-2010 (actual) and 2015-2030 (projected) .. 29 Figure 9: Annual Net Job Creation by Sector and Number of Graduates from Higher Education and Specialized Secondary Education Institutions, 2010 .. 31 Figure 10: Global Innovation Index (with key factors) .. 39 Figure 11: Number of Technical and Scientific Journal Articles Published by Uzbek Researchers .. 39 6 Figure 12: Growth in Research Activity in Uzbekistan in an International Perspective.

9 41 Figure 13: Uzbekistan s Declining Capacity for Innovation, Knowledge Creation, and Knowledge Absorption, 2012 versus 1995 .. 43 Figure 14: Gross Tertiary Enrolment Rates and Per Capita GDP, 2009 .. 45 Figure 15: Female Students as a Share of Total Tertiary Enrolment, 2000-2011 .. 48 Figure 16: Distribution of Student Enrolment by Disciplines, 2006/12 .. 49 Figure 17: Evolution of Student Demand for Different Subject Areas at University .. 51 Figure 18: Growth in Fees and in Applications to Uzbek Higher Education Institutions, 2005-2010 .. 52 Figure 19: Public Spending on Tertiary Education in Uzbekistan and Comparator Countries.

10 74 Figure 20: Public and Private Financing of Higher Education in Uzbekistan .. 76 Figure 21: Public and Private Financing of Higher Education in Uzbekistan and Comparator Countries .. 77 Figure 22: Average Annual Tuition Fee for Contract Students (Bachelor s Degree) in Uzbekistan .. 78 Figure 23: Share of Selected HEI Expenditure Categories Financed by the State Budget in Uzbekistan .. 81 Figure 24: Higher Education Student-Teacher Ratios in Uzbekistan than in the OECD .. 83 Figure 25: Composition of Higher Education Teaching Staff by Academic Qualifications and Salary Level in Uzbekistan .. 84 Figure 26: Shares of Salaries and Capital Expenditures in Total Spending on Higher Education in Uzbekistan and Comparator 85 Table of Tables Table 1: Changes in the Number of Higher Education Graduates by Specialization.