The key facts

  • Erkinjon Turdimov, who previously headed Syrdarya region, has been appointed First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Education and Science (decree of October 9, published October 12).
  • He will coordinate the activities of ministries, agencies and khokims on matters of education, science and healthcare.
  • A secretariat of 12 staff is being created in the Cabinet of Ministers; the total number of administrative personnel is 243.

A new post in the government

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 9 signed a decree on measures to further improve the executive structure of the Cabinet of Ministers; the document was published in the legislative database on October 12. The decree introduced the post of First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Education and Science into the government structure. Erkinjon Turdimov, who previously served as khokim of Syrdarya region, was appointed to this post on October 9. According to the publication, before that he had headed four regions.

Powers and assigned agencies

According to the decree, the First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Education and Science will exercise general leadership and coordination of the activities of the heads of ministries, committees, agencies and inspectorates, as well as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Karakalpakstan, khokims of regions and Tashkent, within their powers on matters of education, science and healthcare. The list of bodies assigned to him includes: the Ministry of Education and Science with its subordinate agencies (for specialized educational institutions, vocational education, innovative development, and assessment of knowledge and qualifications); the Ministry of Healthcare, the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Wellbeing and Public Health, the Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry and the Clinical Audit Inspectorate; the Ministry of Internal Affairs — on matters of preventing offenses and violent crimes in educational institutions; the Youth Affairs Agency — on matters of education, vocational training and upbringing of youth; the Academy of Sciences; other agencies — regarding tasks in the spheres of education, science and healthcare, as well as deputy khokims in relevant areas.

Interaction with law enforcement structures

Separately, the organizations with which interaction must be ensured are defined. Among them are the State Security Service — on matters of preventing illicit drug trafficking, the involvement of youth in criminal groups, religious extremism and terrorism, as well as the National Guard — on matters of patriotic education of pupils and students, strengthening the sense of belonging to the country's fate and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Changes in the structure of the Cabinet of Ministers

The decree provides for the creation of a Secretariat for Education, Science and Healthcare with a staff of 12: five staff units are transferred from the Cabinet's Department for Social Development, and another seven are formed through optimization of the staffs of the reorganized ministries of preschool and school education and of higher education, science and innovations. The Department for Social Development will be renamed the Department for Culture and Sports. The total number of administrative personnel of the executive structure of the Cabinet of Ministers is set at 243. The government has been instructed to adopt, within two weeks, a resolution approving the functional duties of the First Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Education and Science and the regulation on his secretariat.

Motives for the appointment: the president's words

On October 12, at a meeting in New Tashkent, Shavkat Mirziyoyev commented on Turdimov's appointment. "You saw it yourselves: I replaced the minister of education. I brought in the person I trust most and appointed him minister of education, because the number [of universities] has grown while quality has declined. This worries me greatly," the president said. According to him, the appointment of Turdimov, who previously headed four regions, has special significance: "It is not by chance that I gave him the status of First Deputy Prime Minister — so that great attention is paid to education. Now the state's attitude to medicine and education will change completely," he emphasized.