President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, today in his address to the parliament, proposed to declare the year 2020 as the Year of Development of Science, Education and the Digital Economy.

At the same time, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the increase in enrollment in higher education should not be through paid tuition and proposed to double the share of students on state grants, with separate grants to be provided for girls.

According to the President, a revision of the higher education system and simplification of admission terms are planned. Universities should provide “real-world knowledge.”

Higher education standards will be improved. Disciplines will be reviewed and new textbooks created. “The number of disciplines not related to the specialty will be halved,” the president said. According to him, such disciplines are now 30%. Universities are planned to be transitioned to a credit-module system.

Universities will be gradually provided with academic and financial independence. This year, 10 universities will switch over to self-financing. A minimum of 5 universities will begin the transformation together with foreign universities. The lion's share of the financing will be borne by the state.

It is necessary to determine priorities in the field of science, because it is impossible to immediately cover all areas, the President emphasized. Each year, attention will be paid to the development of several areas of science. In 2020, it will be mathematics, chemistry, biology and geology.

“We need innovation like air,” the president said. - We have set a goal to join the ranks of the developed countries, and we will be able to join them only through paceful reforms and the development of science. To this end, we need personnel of the new formation. Therefore, we began reforming all links in education, ”he said.

“We must deeply master new knowledges and innovative technologies. This will make it possible to follow the shortest path of progress,” said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

He acknowledged that most departments are still far from the introduction of digital technology. Many leaders are quite far from digital technology, and therefore they are unable to properly engage their employees,” the President said.

“Creating a digital economy will require enormous resources. But we should start this today, because it will be too late tomorrow,”he said, noting that corruption is the most serious problem that worries him very much.