A wave of controversy has erupted across several higher education institutions in Tashkent following widespread reports that students are being pressured into installing the 'Xavfsiz talaba' ('Safe Student') mobile application. Social media channels widely shared footage from the Uzbekistan State World Languages University, where students were allegedly barred from attending classes unless they proved the application was downloaded on their devices.

According to University Rector Ilhomjon Tukhtasinov, officials from the Uchtepa District Prosecutor's Office supposedly visited the campus to enforce the rollout of the tracking software under the guise of enhancing student safety. The rector claimed these measures purportedly stem from instructions issued following a high-level presidential visit to the city's student campus, though he insisted that restricting access to education was never the intended policy.

The heavy-handed enforcement quickly claimed its first casualty, with Ulugbek Yuldashev, dean of the translation faculty, reportedly being dismissed from his post for failing to efficiently organize the mandatory digital integration. The ensuing public outcry prompted both the Ministry of Education and the General Prosecutor's Office to dispatch working groups to investigate the contentious practices.

Meanwhile, General Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Hayot Shamsutdinov asserted that the platform is supposedly voluntary and that no official directives were ever issued to bar non-compliant students from their lectures. Despite these official denials, the incident highlights persistent bureaucratic overreach and friction surrounding mandatory state digital surveillance initiatives in academic environments.

Source: www.gazeta.uz