Students in Tashkent are being forced to install the 'Xavfsiz talaba' app: phone checks, threats, and the suspension of a dean

Phone checks in classrooms

At the Turkic International University of States, located in the Chilanzar district of Tashkent, students have been required to install the 'Xavfsiz talaba' app upon entering the university for a week now. This was reported to Kun.uz by the students themselves. According to them, on November 3, a group led by the deputy head of the Uchtepa district police department, Abdurashid Achilov, entered the classrooms during lessons and checked students' phones; those who did not have the app installed were required to download it.

The '15 days' threat and the question about data

According to students who contacted the editorial office, one of them refused to install the app not on principle, but because his phone is an iPhone and an APK file cannot be installed on it. When the student asked whether the app could lead to the spread of personal data, the deputy head of the police department, it is claimed, got angry, bent his arm while trying to take his phone, and then threatened him with 15 days of arrest. The Ministry of Internal Affairs press service did not respond to Kun.uz's inquiry on this matter.

Dean's suspension at UzSWLU

Meanwhile, a conflict over the app unfolded at the Uzbekistan State University of World Languages. On November 3, the outlet Daryo.uz reported that the dean of the Faculty of Translation, Ulugbek Yoldoshev, was suspended from his position following a conflict related to 'Xavfsiz talaba'. Students of the university said that on that day, upon entering the university, they were required to install the app; those who had not installed it were not allowed into classes, and those who were late because of this were marked 'nb' for attendance. According to them, during classes, the dean, his deputy, and tutors entered the classrooms and demanded that those who had not installed the app download it, while those who refused were given a reprimand.

Reaction and scale

Journalist Muhrim Azamkhujayev published on his Telegram channel appeals from the faculty staff and students, in which Yoldoshev's suspension is called unjust. In addition, a screenshot has circulated online showing statistics on Tashkent universities regarding what share of students have the 'Xavfsiz talaba' app installed. Thus, judging by reports from two outlets, the coercion to install the app has affected several universities in the capital, while official agencies have not yet responded to journalists' inquiries, and the question of the legality of phone checks and threats remains without official clarification.