Academic Corruption in National Higher Education Institutions in Uzbekistan

Abstract

Since 2016, when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came into power, he and his administration has tried to bring social and economic reforms. One of the key promises the Mirziyoyev administration made was the elimination of corruption, including corruption in the higher education (HE) system. Since 2016, the new government has adopted 18 legislative acts to address corruption in the HE system. Although the documents consider structural and progressive changes, anecdotal evidence still suggests corruption in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Uzbekistan exist. By conducting an overview of survey results among students of four selected local public universities and educators, this research paper shows the level of existing corruption in HEIs in Uzbekistan and explains the potential conducive conditions because of faculty-students relations. The online surveys were conducted with three hundred two current undergraduate students and seventy-three faculty members of selected higher education institutions. The analysis showed the strong correlation between faculty-student relations and corruption in HE. The findings indicate that unregulated faculty-student relations has a causing-effect to corruption in Uzbekistan.