President of Uzbekistan signed amendments stipulating administrative liability for failure to comply with restrictions on conducting educational activities by persons who are not permitted to engage in these activities on Tuesday. The amendments were passed by the Legislative Chamber on July 23 and approved by the Senate on September 20.

What is educational activity

According to the amendments, educational activity is “an activity not covered by state educational standards, aimed at developing the necessary skills and qualifications for the personal, intellectual and spiritual development of a person, increasing social and economic activity, demonstrating intellectual and creative potential, improving individual potential, skills, and communication skills.”

This activity can be conducted by both national executive bodies, local government bodies and local self-government bodies, as well as individuals and legal entities, taking into account the requirements of the law.

The procedure for conducting educational activities, their forms, requirements and conditions will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.

What is the rationale behind the amendments

The preamble of the amendments highlighted that in recent years, "among the population, especially among young people, there have been an increase in cases of unhealthy educational work, within the framework of which various alien views and ideas are introduced into the consciousness, culture and feelings of the population and young people."

"The growing interest of the public in this area and its transformation into the main source of income for people working in this area creates the need for its legal regulation," the document says.

At a meeting of the Legislative Chamber, the MP Shakhnoza Kholmakhamatova noted that numerous meetings, rallies, lectures and conversations, called educational by the organizers, are conducted by "fake" trainers and lecturers who do not have special knowledge and experience, whose main goal is "earning money by deception."

At such events, various offenses, immorality, sexual discrimination, polygamy are promoted, and the number of cases of manipulation of listeners is growing, she said.

Who is prohibited from conducting educational activities

Persons who are involved as defendants in a criminal case, who are charged of crimes against sexual freedom, crimes against the family, youth and morality, crimes against the peace and security of mankind, crimes against the Republic of Uzbekistan, fraud and crimes against the order of management, crimes related to the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, their analogues or psychotropic substances, persons recognized by the court as incompetent or partially incompetent, as well as persons registered in psychiatric or drug treatment institutions are prohibited from carrying out educational activities.

What punishment has been adopted

The Administrative Liability Code has been supplemented with Article 59-4 "Violation of the procedure for implementing educational activities".

According to it, conducting educational activities by a person who does not have the right to engage in such activities, or failure to comply with the restrictions established by law on the implementation of educational activities in the absence of elements of a crime, as well as other offenses provided for by this Code of Administrative Offenses, entails the imposition of a fine on citizens from 5 to 10, and on officials - from 10 to 15 basic calculation units.

The same offense, committed repeatedly within a year after the application of an administrative penalty, entails the imposition of a fine on citizens from 10 to 15, and on officials - from 15 to 20 BRV.

The amendments will take effect in three months. During this time, the government must adopt a regulation on the procedure for implementing educational activities and bring its decisions into line with the amendments.