Only students with GPA 3.5+ eligible for grants under new regulations

Officials from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation provided details on the fairness of the grant allocation and redistribution process during a press conference with the media. First Deputy Minister Shokhrukh Daliyev emphasized that the process will be fully transparent.

According to him, three separate commissions, each with no fewer than nine members, will oversee the process, including representatives from the public. The regulations explicitly define the three commissions as follows:

1. Academic Performance Assessment Commission – Formed by the university rector, led by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, this commission evaluates the academic performance of candidates for educational grants.
2. Social Activity Assessment Commission – Established by the university rector, led by the Vice-Rector for Youth Affairs and Spiritual-Enlightenment Work, this commission assesses the social engagement of grant applicants.
3. Special Commission – Led by the university rector, this commission consolidates the results from the academic and social activity assessment commissions for final review.

“We believe that under the government-approved regulations, all processes in higher education institutions will be fair and transparent. We will ensure strict control over this,” Daliyev stated.

Objective evaluation system for social activity

Ministry Department Head Abduvali Kholiqov assured that the evaluation of students' social activity would be based on a clear and automated system, operational before the commissions begin their work.

“A student activity index is being developed, and it will function through an automated system. Just as GPA figures are fixed in HEMIS and cannot be altered by anyone, social activity will also be assessed using specific indices and indicators. The data will be automatically extracted from the system — no manual entries will be made,” he explained.

New grant allocation rules

It should be recalled that the government has approved regulations on the procedure for awarding and redistributing grants in higher education institutions. According to these regulations:

• Applicants for educational grants must have a GPA of at least 3.5 for the current academic year.
• Students with a GPA below 3.5 will not be allowed to participate in the tiered redistribution of grants, and their grant positions will remain vacant.