Youth of Uzbekistan Challenges and Prospects
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Yo uth of Uzbekistan: Challenges and Prospects © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) December 2020 UNICEF Uzbekistan Poytakht Business Centre 16 Sharof Rashidov Street Tashkent 100029, Uzbekistan Youth of Uzbekistan: Challenges and Prospects 4 The Youth of Uzbekistan Challenges and Prospects Acknowledgements UNICEF conducted the national study Ministry of Public Education, “The youth of Uzbekistan: challenges Ministry of Health and mass media and prospects” in the framework of a provided valuable expert opinions joint workplan with the Youth Union of which were used to develop the Uzbekistan and a partnership agreement research instruments and finalize the with the Nationwide Movement Yuksalish methodology; in 2018-2020. The key aim of the • The research agency “Expert Fikri” national youth study was to provide a collected the primary quantitative and comprehensive overview of the state qualitative data; of young people in Uzbekistan, with a • UNICEF M&E colleagues, specifically focus that includes key spheres of their Zokir Nazarov and Komolakhon everyday lives, to inform national youth Rakhmanova, provided significant policy and improve decisions made on support to develop the research matters affecting youth wellbeing. methodology, monitor the data collection process to ensure quality and The study was accomplished thanks to adherence to ethical guidelines, and the valuable contributions of the following also reviewed the report; stakeholders: • UNICEF colleagues, specifically Yulia • The Nationwide Movement Yuksalish Oleinik, Umid Aliev, Deepa Sankar and provided support and helped to gain Sufang Guo, provided significant support access to the population, reviewed the with developing the methodology and research instruments and findings of the research instruments, conducting a peer study; review and finalizing the report; • The Youth Union of Uzbekistan, as • Design and data visualization were well as the Institute for Studying Youth developed by Mardiyah Alexandra Miller; Problems and Training Perspective • Quantitative data analysis, including Personnel, contributed to identifying the factor analysis, was conducted by Rauf themes of the study, the methodology Salahodjaev. and reviewed the study report; • The report authors are UNICEF • Representatives of the Ministry of consultants, Philipp Shroeder and Inna Employment and Labour Relations, Wolfson. 5 Executive Summary Introduction Uzbekistan that aims to strengthen youth policy development and implementation In present-day Uzbekistan, children and by providing in-depth findings and young people below 30 years of age actionable recommendations from the constitute 60 per cent of the population. perspective of young people and in their In 15-20 years, they will become the own voices. largest labour force Uzbekistan has ever had, presenting a unique opportunity to Conducted between 2018-2020, the study take the country to a new level of socio- targeted youth between 14 and 30 years economic development. Grasping this of age across Uzbekistan’s 12 provinces, opportunity entails the development of the capital city Tashkent and the a strategic long-term vision on youth autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. development, informed by evidence and It employed a mixed methods-approach the opinions of young people. composed of a quantitative survey with 4,458 respondents and a qualitative The study ‘The Youth of Uzbekistan: survey with a total of 24 Focus Group Challenges and Prospects’ is a joint effort Discussions. by UNICEF, the Nationwide Movement Yuksalish and the Youth Union of 12 Provinces Capital City Tashkent Republic of Karakalpakstan 4,458 Respondents 24 Focus Group Discussions Age: 14 30 6 The Youth of Uzbekistan Challenges and Prospects Findings Education & Learning Professional Life & Economic Across Uzbekistan, students from Opportunities different educational institutions indicate Among 19-30-year-old respondents, the far-reaching satisfaction with the rate of those not transferring to further present educational infrastructure (e.g. education, training, or the labour market built environment, instruction, learning after secondary education (NEET) is an materials). However, they depict the alarming 54.6 per cent. For young women, situation to be less favorable in rural areas the NEET-rate is consistently higher than than in urban centres. As to their learning for young men, reaching 74.0 per cent environments, students express a wish as compared to 24.8 per cent. When it for these to be more positively motivating, comes to their future work, it is important more practice-oriented and to provide for young people in Uzbekistan that their better-quality education. In particular, particular professional field is their ‘own students want better training in language choice’ (and not that of their parents). In skills, to increase their business literacy addition, working should lead to a ‘decent and to be better prepared for the transition income’ and allow the individual to be into professional life. surrounded by a positive ‘collective’ of colleagues who are supportive to youth For many students the costs of education and enable continuous learning. cause personal stress and frustration. These include the need to pay for private tutoring, to pay bribes and to pay high tuition fees in order to enroll into institutions of higher education. 7 The factors impeding the ambition Social Embedding of young women to generate own income are household and family-care Uzbekistan’s youth almost exclusively responsibilities, and lower mobility in trusts and relies on their parents. regards to being able to relocate towards In contrast, many perceive their economic opportunities. As compared to friendships to be at risk from a lack their contemporaries residing in urban of support, breaches of secrecy and centres, youths in rural areas enjoy social stigmatization. In relation to the fewer opportunities for continuing their elder generation, young people point education or securing employment, and to the expectation that they should therefore show an interest in pursuing be ‘obedient’, especially within their entrepreneurship. More generally, young neighbourhood communities (mahalla). people critically assess the role of pre- A sense of independence increases existing networks (and nepotism) and the among young people once they start to family’s individual economic capability of generate their own income or after they advancing their social mobility. get married, but this applies more for males than for females. The present and future of gender relations is assessed by youth along the lines of a continued conservative patriarchy (which was more the male position) versus a change towards equal rights (which was more the female position). When it comes to marriage, the new partner is depicted as a source of moral, practical and financial support. At the same time, married youth acknowledges that the transition to living as a married couple with the extended family (usually the husband’s parents) is a difficult one. 8 The Youth of Uzbekistan Challenges and Prospects Residency & Mobility Societal Impact Young people in Uzbekistan show an The younger generation indicate a strong exceptional sense of belonging to their interest in ‘political news’ and also feel home villages and cities, and their ‘free’ to express their opinions publicly. motivation not to migrate is high, both However, only a few young people are in-country (80.3 per cent) and abroad active in public or political organizations. (77.3 per cent). The comfort of residing Young people widely share the opinion in familiar geographical and social that they are excluded from decision- environments seems to be inspired by a making and activities at the local (mahalla) dislike of change, a fear of the unknown, level, based on the societal perception or negative migration experiences. that ‘adults know better’. They therefore advocate for a change to communication There is widespread agreement among between themselves and the elder youth that ‘a good place to live’ can be generation, and it is essential to them that either a rural or an urban setting, as long a serious interest in the life-experience of as it fulfils the essential condition that young people emerges, and a proactive one’s family can lead a quiet, healthy and engagement with them. peaceful life there. As far as youth organizations are concerned, in particular the Youth Union, it is generally suggested that these should focus their activities more on skills-development and on improving information flow on topics relevant to educational and professional success. 9 Digital Life & the Internet Concerns, Leisure & the End of While young people in Uzbekistan express Youth a very strong interest in learning more While young people in Uzbekistan about computers (86.9 per cent), there generally consider themselves ‘happy’, still is a significant group (37.8 per cent), there is also a significant number who composed particularly of females and rural admit to ‘feeling sad or depressed’ youth, who do not have any computer regularly (26.5 per cent at least once skills. Furthermore, the gap is noticeable a week). While self-reported health between the large number (53.9 per cent) satisfaction is generally high (79.7 per who ‘never’ use the Internet (primarily cent at least ‘good’), there are critical youth in rural areas and females) and voices about the public health system the smaller number using it ‘daily’ (25.4 that point to inadequate conditions in per cent) (primarily