Uzbekistan has changed the rules for calculating salary bonuses paid to employees holding academic degrees. Under Cabinet of Ministers decree No. 604, additional payments will now be determined by a researcher's scientific activity as recorded through the Science ID identification system and verified against a single electronic database. The measure, reported by Podrobno.uz and adopted in Tashkent, is designed to make research funding more transparent, curb bonuses based on unverified claims and link extra pay to confirmed output rather than to the formal possession of a degree.
Key Takeaways: Decree No. 604 establishes a new mechanism for calculating bonuses for degree holders, with researchers showing high activity in Science ID eligible for payments of up to 10% of their base salary. Data on research, teaching and employment will be collected electronically and checked for authenticity before any payment is calculated. An electronic register of scientific and innovative organisations must be developed by 1 January 2027, with the unified research database due by 1 April 2027.
The change is part of a broader overhaul of Uzbekistan's science and higher-education system. Officials previously announced a reform of doctoral training, introducing differentiated stipends for young researchers and revising, from 2027, the way academic supervisors are paid. A recurring criticism has been that a degree or title alone could justify top-up payments even when published results were thin or unverifiable. The new model shifts the emphasis from formal credentials to documented, checked achievements, aligning pay with the government's wider push to digitalise public services and allocate budget money on measurable outcomes.
Under the decree, information on employees' research, teaching and employment records will be gathered in an electronic system and screened for reliability before being used in bonus calculations. In practical terms, scientists will no longer be able to secure additional payments simply by declaring their achievements: results must be entered into the database and officially confirmed. Information that fails verification will be excluded from the calculation. A separate incentive is reserved for researchers demonstrating high activity through Science ID, the national researcher identification system, allowing a supplement of up to 10% of salary. Officials stress this does not amount to an automatic pay rise for every degree holder, since payments depend on set criteria and confirmed results.
Implementation is staggered. The electronic register of scientific and innovative organisations is to be drawn up by 1 January 2027, and from February their registration is expected to open through public service centres and the my.gov.uz portal. The unified database of research activity is scheduled for rollout by 1 April 2027.
In the coming months, the responsible agencies are expected to populate the register and database and to test the bonus criteria in practice. Analysts note that the outcome will hinge on how quickly and transparently data are verified, and on whether research institutions can adapt to the new electronic procedures within the 2027 deadlines.
Source: podrobno.uz