Nursing Programs in Uzbek Colleges and Current Barriers for Higher Quality of Nursing
Education.
Currently, Uzbekistan has several institutions that provide nursing education for students
interested in pursuing a career in nursing. There are 5 professional colleges and 2 universities
(Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees) that offer this professional training. Secondary special and
professional education is free in Uzbekistan; therefore, all students graduating from 9th grade
(6 million students annually) voluntarily continue their education at colleges and academic
lyceums. To offset the costs of providing free education, the government administers
enrollment tests on the same date. This means that each candidate has only one chance per
year (there are no safeties if the student does not pass examinations). This policy ensures that
applicants prepare well for the tests and only the brightest and most talented get the benefit of
a free education. The acceptance rate for colleges and lyceums is determined by 2 factors:
number of students applying (always high)
specialty/major (specialties such as Law, Finance, Medicine/non-Nursing
specialties tend to be more competitive)
Borovski Medical College is the most popular option for Uzbek students since it has an
acceptance rate of 75% for the nursing specialty program. However, this number drops to
40% for specialties like OBGYN and General Medicine. This might seem to be a pleasant
outlook for nursing candidates, but difficulties arise later when students interested in
continuing their education have to go through the highly selective process to be accepted to
one of the two universities that offer degrees in Nursing (both Bachelor’s and Master’s
degrees).
6 | P a g e
Currently, students face several barriers for continuing their education in the nursing
field, which include a limited number of options for post-secondary education, the current
design of the education and training program, lower salary and benefits post-graduation
compared to other medical professions, and social stigma associated with nursing profession.