Uzbekistan should increase student stipends to at least the level of minimum consumer expenditure and introduce more targeted financial support, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has proposed, arguing that current payments are insufficient to cover students’ everyday expenses.
The proposal was presented during a fiscal dialogue held in Tashkent on July 30, where the institute outlined several challenges affecting the country’s current student stipend system.
According to the institute, Uzbekistan has approximately 1.6mn university students, but only 118,000 — or 7.3% — currently receive stipends.
The institute said the basic student stipend remains below the minimum level of consumer expenditure and does not adequately account for students’ social and financial circumstances.
Uzbekistan’s minimum consumer expenditure is currently set at UZS 715,000 ($60.1), while the basic monthly student stipend amounts to UZS 569,870 ($47.9).
The current stipend is therefore approximately 20% below the minimum consumer expenditure level, leaving a gap of more than UZS 145,000 ($12.2) per month.
The institute proposed introducing targeted stipend support and increasing the basic payment to at least the minimum consumer expenditure threshold.
It also recommended maintaining rental housing subsidies and expanding scholarship programs financed by ministries, government agencies and employers.
The issue of raising student stipends has been discussed for several years. During a press conference at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation on April 15, ministry representatives said a proposal to increase stipends by 32–35% had been submitted in 2025 but had not yet produced a result.
Officials also said at the time that student stipends were expected to increase by at least 10% annually. However, under a presidential decree, stipends are set to rise by 7% from September 1, 2026.
Under the current system, stipends are primarily paid to students enrolled on state-funded grants. Up to 10% of students studying under tuition contracts may also receive stipends, while the remaining contract students generally choose to study without them.
The debate has also raised questions over the relationship between student stipends and university tuition fees.
During the April press conference, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Kongratbay Sharipov said that stipend policy was linked to tuition fees as universities moved toward greater financial independence and were given broader opportunities to generate their own revenue.
Economist Otabek Bakirov criticized this approach, arguing that stipends should be treated primarily as a form of social support for students studying under state-funded programs rather than as a payment connected to tuition costs.
He said linking stipend levels to university contract fees lacked social and economic justification, particularly because many of the main stipend recipients do not pay tuition.
If the basic stipend is treated as a form of social assistance and aligned with the minimum consumer expenditure threshold, it would need to increase by approximately 26% from its current level, according to the proposal.
Student stipends were last increased by 10% on August 1, 2025, following a four-year period without an increase.
