A Decree “On measures to strengthen the potential and competitiveness of educational organizations of higher professional education of the Kyrgyz Republic” was signed by President Sadyr Japarov.

The Decree aims to strengthen the potential and competitiveness of state educational institutions of higher professional education of the Kyrgyz Republic in the international educational services market by consolidating financial, material, and intellectual resources.

The Decree grants the following public higher education institutions special status with the significant organizational, budgetary, and academic autonomy:

– Osh State University;

– Kyrgyz National University named after J. Balasagyn;

– Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I. Razzakov;

– Kyrgyz National Agrarian University named after K.I. Skryabin;

- Kyrgyz State Medical Academy named after I.K. Akhunbaev.

The following privileges are provided to these public universities:

- to open bank accounts outside of the treasury system in commercial banks with governmental involvement for the use of extra-budgetary money;

- autonomously choose, in cooperation with the boards of trustees, the internal management structure and workforce levels;

- hire and fire vice rectors for their academic work;

- independently ascertain the status and identity of the university’s structural units, the method for planning their operations, and the qualifications needed for their management and employees;

- establish the forms and amounts of payment, material incentives, and material aid to all types of university personnel independently, in conjunction with the boards of trustees;

- for a three-year period of being exempt from all audits, with the exception of an annual, independent, external or internal (intra-university) audit conducted in compliance with global auditing standards and Kyrgyz Republic law;

- collect income in the form of funds from educational, consulting, research, publishing, production, and other commercial operations that aren't illegal, and use those funds to build the university's material and technical base as well as to improve its activities;

- autonomously, in accordance with the boards of trustees, administer (alienate, change, lease) movable and immovable property purchased with special funds as well as dispose of money obtained from leasing movable and immovable property;

- receive state grants for education in an amount not less than that which is planned for in 2022;

- create and independently approve tariffs for for-profit educational services;

- independently ascertain the number of students and approve the admissions strategy, taking into account the space that is available and other university-current conditions;

- to give the university's structural subdivisions the status of a legal entity, allowing them to incur costs for approved estimates of their income and expenses, capital and current repairs, and the development of the material and technical base that has been assigned to them but is not yet reflected on their balance sheet.

Additionally, the directive states that the following state-run higher education institutions should be reorganized as:

- The Kyrgyz Economic University named after M. Ryskulbekov became a research university when it merged with the Academy of Business and Social Development and the Bishkek Financial and Economic College named after A. Toktonaliev;

- Kyrgyz National University named after Zh. Balasagyn by joining the Kyrgyz State Law University;

- Osh State University by joining the Osh State Law Institute;

- Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I. Razzakov by joining the Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture named after N. Isanov, Kyrgyz State University of Geology, Mining and Development of Natural Resources named after Academician U. Asanaliev.

According to established protocol, the Cabinet of Ministers is directed to begin drafting regulatory legal actions that:

- the decree’s removal of certain state university educational services from the purview of laws governing state and municipal services;

– granting the following rights to state universities specified in the decree:

- autonomously decide the process for hiring teaching staff posts;

- conduct educational activities in accordance with postgraduate and higher professional education programs without acquiring a license;

- autonomously, with the boards of trustees’ approval, make purchases in accordance with the internal purchasing policies that have been approved;

- to put into practice educational programs for higher professional and postgraduate professional education based on requirements and standards for education that have been independently created;

- autonomously create and accept the entrance requirements for training in bachelor’s degree and specializations;

The Cabinet of Ministers is also instructed to implement this decree’s related provisions and make decisions that are consistent with it.