Abstract:

Higher education in Uzbekistan has traditionally adhered to the Soviet model, emphasizing vocational training and reinforcing state ideologies. Following its independence, Uzbekistan largely maintained this model, characterized by a centralized, top-down approach. Higher education was not viewed primarily as a means of advancing broader societal and economic goals, and the Sustainable Development Goals were not a focal point at educational institutions. However, after the assumption of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, starting in 2017, a full range of reforms in the higher education sector began to take place. There has been a notable shift towards modernizing the sector and aligning it global sustainability agendas. Reforms have included increasing student enrollment, granting greater autonomy to universities, enhancing international collaborations, fostering private sector engagement, and boosting research outputs. Most notably, state rhetoric has begun to recognize higher education institutions as a driver for societal and economic development and as a key contributor to sustainable development.

Despite these reforms, a lot of issues and concerns about general quality of education persist to this date. These issues include outdated infrastructure, substandard teaching quality, and low participation rates in rural areas. Moreover, the authoritarian governance structure and top-down approach remains in the system. These and many other challenges present obstacles against the effective realization of reform agendas. Amid these challenges, the efficacy of translating reform policies into tangible improvements that enable higher education institutions to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development remains questionable. The journey toward sustainability is intricate, requiring the collaboration of various stakeholders; there is no definitive guide on how sustainability principles should be implemented within the higher education system. However, the current reforms modus operandi, authoritarian and top-down, and the status quo of higher education, persistence of issues at different levels, suggest that there are many factors potentially inhibiting the effective implementation of the reforms at grassroot levels.

The current research scholarship explores how the Uzbek government has sought to reform its public higher education system and assesses the extent of reforms initial outcomes in relation to sustainability. By examining government decrees and directives issued to institutions to transform their campuses into the drivers of the global goals, this study aims to understand the preliminary outcomes of these reform policies and discuss the potential challenges and prospects of transforming the higher education landscape in Uzbekistan.