Address by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Part 2)
Dear compatriots!
By critically analyzing the work we have accomplished last year, I would like to emphasize the following conclusions.
First, the heads of all levels must not relax by staring at the achieved preliminary positive indicators.
The end goal of the activity of new Parliament and the Government for the forthcoming 5 years must be raising the living conditions of our multi-national people residing in Uzbekistan.
In this regard, by addressing our deputies I want to say the following.
It is necessary to elaborate clear-cut programs and roadmaps on tackling pressing issues raised by the population during the pre-election campaign meetings and ensure their full implementation in cooperation with relevant ministries and agencies.
Otherwise, a deputy will lose his respect before electors, who have laid trust in him/her, with the status of the party seeing its downfall.
Since, today both the way of thinking, the worldview, the demands and needs of our people have completely changed. Our people are cleverer and greater than everyone.
Second, in increasing quality of the governance system we need to accomplish a lot to ensure full implementation in practice of the basic principle which goes as follows: «It is not the people who should serve the state bodies but it is the state bodies that should serve the people».
The fact that more than 1 million applications are being filed with the Virtual and People’s reception offices requires taking dialogue with the population up to a new level.
From now on, it will be put in place the system of regular hearing in the parliamentary sessions and sittings of the people’s deputies of the reports on how the heads of state bodies and khokims (governors and mayors) are addressing these appeals.
Hereinafter the way of distributing additional incomes of local budgets, fair identification of receivers of pensions and assessing the work of heads of executive bodies shall be evaluated based on the analysis of applications filed with the People’s reception offices.
Each and every deputy should constantly work along with People’s reception offices, actively participate in tackling the problems of people residing in their constituent territories and listen to the pressing issues voiced by people.
In such a way the deputies will act on their promises given to electors, will justify people’s trust and will gain their respect.
In such a way me as well, let alone as President, but as an ordinary elector, would be very grateful to you.
Third, as we have set as our goal to turn Uzbekistan into a developed country, we can achieve this only through active reforms, science and education, and innovations.
For this purpose, above all, we must nourish new generation of knowledgeable and skilled cadres, who will come on the scene as initiative reformers and those with a strategic thinking.
It is therefore that we have embarked on reforming all layers of education – starting with a kindergarten and up to an institution of higher learning.
In order to raise knowledge and awareness of not only the youth, but our entire society we need, first of all, knowledge and enlightenment, and higher spirituality.
At a place with no knowledge there will be lagging behind, ignorance, and certainly, going astray from the right path.
The wise men of the East noted as follows: «The biggest wealth is knowledge. The biggest heritage is good upbringing. The biggest misery is no-knowledge»!
It is therefore that mastering contemporary knowledge and attempting to be a genuine person of education and higher culture must turn into continuous life’s demand for all of us.
In order to achieve progress, we must master digital knowledge and modern information technologies.
It will allow us to traverse along the shortest route of progress.
Since, at present the information technologies are deeply penetrating all spheres in the world.
Despite the fact that in 2019 our country has climbed up 8 positions in the «International ICT development index», we are still lagging very behind.
It will also be true to say that most of the ministries and agencies, enterprises are far away from digital technologies.
Certainly, we know well that in order to form a digital economy, the necessary infrastructure, vast funds and labor resources are required.
However, no matter how difficult it will be, if we are not going to embark in this work, then when we will do so? It will be quite late tomorrow.
Therefore, to actively transit to digital economy will be one of the most priority tasks for us in the forthcoming five years.
The digital technologies will not only raise the quality of products and services, but also will reduce extra expenditures.
Along with this, it is also an effective tool to eradicate the evil of corruption – the most terrible evil which makes me most troubled and much concerned. All of us should clearly comprehend this.
Broad introduction of digital technologies into state and social governance as much as into social sphere will make it possible to increase a result outcome, and in a word, can radically improve living conditions of people.
Dear compatriots!
Distinguished deputies!
With a view of consistently continuing and taking up to a new and modern level the work we have started to develop the sphere of science and enlightenment, upbringing our youth to be the personalities with deep knowledge, high culture and spirituality, forming competitive economy I propose to announce 2020 in our country as the «Year of development of science, education and digital economy».
I thank all of you for supporting this proposal.
In order to comprehensively reform and develop the sectors and spheres enunciated in the naming of the year, we will have to accomplish a large-scale work.
In particular, this year we must raise the level of coverage of children with preschool education up to 60 percent. We will allocate 1,8 trillion soums from budget for these purposes. For the first time in our country the system of preparing kids to school from the age of 6 will be introduced. We will allocate for these purposes 130 billion soums from the budget. The private preschool educational institutions shall also participate in this process.
In 2020 thanks to allocation of 1,7 trillion budget soums we will build 36 new schools and overhaul 211 schools. It is also envisaged to establish 55 private schools with taking their total number to 141.
We will introduce the system of progressive wages for teachers with big pedagogical skills and relevant qualification, and known to have achieved concrete results in their activities.
It is necessary to improve school curricula based on advanced foreign experience, revise curricula load and disciplines being taught at school, bring them in line with international standards and increase quality of books and school literature.
In order to prepare to introduce the international system of school education assessment in Uzbekistan in 2021, we will identify 348 basic schools with raising qualifications of over 6 thousand teachers.
From this academic year completely new system of professional education will be introduced. We will establish 340 professional schools, 147 colleges and 143 technical schools.
In order to ensure qualifications of cadres correspond to the requirements of international labor market we need to draft the National Qualification System which will allow training cadres almost on 9 thousand professions.
We ought to create all conditions for our youth which strives to obtain higher education, self-improvement and wants to dedicate themselves to science. Therefore, we will ensure coverage of graduates of schools with higher education at least up to 25 percent in 2020 and up to 50-60 percent in the future.
It is necessary to note that increasing coverage with higher education must not be undertaken at the expense of paid and contract-based education.
What do you say if we increase two-fold the share of state scholarships (grants) for entering institutions of higher learning?
The separate grants will be allocated to girls. The Women’s Committee shall elaborate the criteria of selection of candidatures for studies based on such scholarships (grants).
It is necessary to optimize entrance examinations to higher education institutions, pay a special attention to simplification of acceptance conditions and teaching by higher education institutions of truly in-demand knowledge.
Thus, we need to institute the national testing system of evaluation of knowledge of mother tongue. Having noted that, a student will have an opportunity to pass this exam at any time and receive a certain certificate. As a result, there will be no need to pass through native language test once again in filing applications to an institution of higher learning.
Based on foreign experience we will improve higher education standards and revise its directions and structure of subjects being taught. The number of subjects, which doesn’t have relation to profession being sought, shall be reduced two-fold.
We must switch to credit and module system in higher education. From this year a three-year term of study was identified for six directions of pedagogical education. Such changes will be carried out in other directions, as well.
The higher education institutions will step-by-step receive academic and financial independence. This year 10 higher education institutions will switch to self-financing.
Besides, on a contest-based method we will identify at least five institutions of higher learning and along with advanced foreign educational institutions we will start to transform them.
We will have to identify concrete priorities in the sphere of science.
Not a single state is capable to develop all branches of science at a time. Therefore, each year we will pay attention to development of several important directions.
This year we will take measures to actively develop fundamental and applied research in such areas as mathematics, chemistry, biology and geology. All conditions will be created for scientists. It is also necessary to radically revise mechanism of allocating targeted grants for fundamental and innovative research.
We should form electronic platform of scientific achievements, the database of domestic and foreign scientific developments.
Each higher educational and science and research institution should establish cooperation with advanced foreign universities and scientific centers.
This year we will send abroad through «El-yurt umidi» Foundation over 700 scientists and teachers to conduct scientific research and raise qualifications.
In the future we need to increase number of scholarships two times and expand directions of research.
In 2020 we must undertake a breakthrough in developing digital economy. Firstly, we need to fully digitize the spheres of construction, energy, agriculture and water economy, transport, geology, healthcare, education, cadastre and archiving.
Along with this, we need to critically revise the system of Electronic Government as well as programs and projects being implemented in its framework, and comprehensively address all organizational and institutional issues.
At the moment, the IT-Park with a modern infrastructure is being created in Tashkent. We are already seeing the initial results of its work. Such IT-Parks are also going to be established in Nukus, Bukhara, Namangan, Samarkand, Gulistan and Urgench.
In order to train highly-qualified specialists in the area of information technologies, along with our foreign partners we have launched a «1 million programmers» project.
The modern information technologies must be introduced at all stages of the education system.
Taking into account that last year we have completed the work in terms of switching all towns and district centers to high-speed Internet, in the nearest two years we should provide such an opportunity for all villages and auls. At present, the high-speed Internet access is enjoyed by more than 7 thousand institutions of healthcare, preschool and school education, and in two years’ time their number will increase to 12 thousand.
Taking all these tasks into account, we need during two months’ time to complete developing «Digital Uzbekistan – 2030» program. Further, to coordinate this work on a systemic basis separate posts of a deputy Prime minister, deputy heads of ministries and agencies, and khokims (‘governors and mayors’) on the ground will be created.
The Parliament must regularly hear the reports of the Government, heads of branches and regions about the work being carried out to develop science, education and digital economy.
(AK/R1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
