This article examines the transformations within the higher education system of the Khorezm region, Uzbekistan, from 2020 to 2025, based on official statistical data. The primary sources include the annual publication "Education in Uzbekistan" by the National Statistics Committee and a departmental reference note on the region compiled as of 16 June 2025. Over the five-year period, the number of higher education institutions increased from three to eight, and the student population expanded from 22,800 to 60,600—representing a factor of 2.66, surpassing the national average of 2.51. The predominant driver of this growth was the non-state sector, which contributed to 53.4 percent of the total increase over the five years and now enrolls 33.3 percent of all students in the region. Conversely, the capacity of academic staff lagged: the student-to-staff ratio increased from 19.8 to 29.1, and the proportion of staff holding academic degrees remained between three and ten percentage points below the national average throughout the period. This article identifies the cause of this disparity as the centralisation of doctoral training and proposes a tripartite institutional typology of the regional network.
The Anatomy of Regional Massification: Higher Education in Khorezm Region, Uzbekistan, 2020–2025
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Legal acts
Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-5847 of 8 October 2019 “On approval of the Concept for the development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030”. https://lex.uz/docs/-4545884