In the framework of promoting a specific agenda for every year, the year 2008 was declared the “Year of Youth” in Uzbekistan. At a cabinet meeting on February 8, President Islam Karimov urged ministers to put into action a state strategy for youth, drafted especially for 2008. The strategy’s main stated goals are to train young middle-ranking specialists, create a more secure job market, and protect the rights of young people. On February 29, President Islam Karimov signed a decree “On the ‘Year of Youth’ government program”. The program provides for a package of policies to address the protection of rights and interests of the youth, and deepening reforms in the system of continuous education.

The issue of youth rights and development prospects has a great significance in a state where 64 percent of the population, i.e. 17 million people, are under the age of thirty. In fact, the aforementioned enactment is just one among about a hundred laws and decrees adopted by the state in connection with the upbringing of the young generation, achieving a world standard educational system, as well as social and legal protection. This program, in turn, aims particularly at addressing the development of the legal system, the improvement of the educational system and personnel training, the formation of solid beliefs and strife for a healthy lifestyle, assistance to graduates and post-army service cadres in terms of employment opportunities, search for talented children, as well as moral and material support of young families. Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoev is entrusted with the implementation of the decree.

In fact, in February there were several events organized by and for the young people of Uzbekistan. The public youth movement “Kamolot” plays an important role in the realization of the state’s youth policy. On February 27, it held a round table dedicated to discussing of priority directions of youth policy in the process of civil society formation in Uzbekistan. On February 26, another round table on “Prevention of Wrongdoings among the Youth: Experience of Germany and Uzbekistan” was held in the National Centre of Human Rights. On February, 16 a forum on competitiveness of youth took place in Tashkent. It discussed the role of the youth in the development of the state, identifying it as a strategic reserve of Uzbekistan. An integral part of the discussion was the level and quality of education in the republic.

According to official sources, about twenty percent of the state budget is spent on education. Massive educational reform started in Uzbekistan in the early 1990s, immediately following independence. Stressing the formation of specialized middle-ranking personnel, the authorities introduced three-year vocational schools, lyceums and colleges. Currently 100 lyceums and 900 vocational school offer courses to about a million pupils. These measures were taken as a part of the plan towards introducing a 12-year system of universal education by 2010. Based on the claims of the authorities, 70-75 percent of college and lyceum graduates should find employment in their specialization or continue onto higher education.

Despite the best intentions and hopes, statistics give a different picture. The World Bank estimated the overall level of unemployment in Uzbekistan at six percent in 2006. Out of this, youth unemployment is at thirteen percent, signaling insufficient demand in the market for educated graduates. Thus, most of them are engaged in low-wage jobs, engage in labor migration, or, in the worst case, are jobless.

The immediate explanation of the authorities on the resultant problem was the incompatibility of the school curricula with the demands of the market. The solution provided was as narrow and simple as changing the content of the school and college courses, bringing them closer to the demands of the Uzbek reality. No measures were taken in the sphere of economic reform or development to provide the young labor force with jobs, underestimating the connections between these areas. A University professor from the eastern city of Namangan noted in this respect that: “the government should not try to maintain a strict monopoly over everything, including the economy and education. Instead, it should give more freedom to people to do their own business.”

In light of the present situation with employment opportunities for graduates of schools and universities, at the aforementioned cabinet meeting on February 8, the President identified the need to analyze the areas of specialization that are in biggest demand in the domestic market. Once this will be done, the “unnecessary” departments at universities and courses at colleges and lyceums will be closed or cancelled.

During Soviet times, there was a widespread saying “Give youth the way!” hinting at the increased role of youth in the development and progress of the state. In independent Uzbekistan, the saying still holds true, at least on the paper and in the legislation. In 2008, the ”Year of Youth”, with increased attention to the problems of the Uzbek youth, including education and employment, the current situation and forthcoming developments promise very little change for the best.