Private universities facing licensing hurdles for law programs, Education Ministry invites them for talks

During the March 26 press conference, the challenge of private universities obtaining a license for law programs was discussed again.

Shokhrukh Daliyev, First Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, stated that claims of artificial restrictions or selective denials of licenses are incorrect. "Resolution No. 80 outlines the requirements and standards. Licensing is carried out in accordance with these regulations. Regarding the establishment of legal education programs, the ministry applies an objective and uniform approach to all fields," he said.

Daliyev also clarified that the ministry does not have a biased stance against any particular discipline, including law, medicine, or mathematics. "We receive many requests through our portal regarding the introduction of new programs and the establishment of new universities. All applications are reviewed based on established regulations. It is incorrect to single out one university or one field. If any institution is facing difficulties specifically in launching a law program, we are open to discussions. They can communicate with us, and we are even open to holding individual meetings," he added.

His remarks were supported by the head of the ministry’s department, Abduvali Kholikov, who pointed out that every field has its own licensing requirements. "For example, while we are discussing law programs, launching programs in biology or geology is even more challenging because they require additional material resources and laboratories. Some legal education programs also require specialized laboratory facilities," Kholikov noted.

It is worth mentioning that challenges in obtaining a license for law programs have been a recurring issue for a long time. Officials usually state that private universities fail to fully meet the requirements and that there would be no issues if all conditions were satisfied.