In the 2026/2027 academic year, nearly 234,000 applicants failed to achieve the minimum score of 56.7 in entrance tests for state universities

In the entrance tests for the bachelor's programs of state universities for the 2026/2027 academic year, 233,935 applicants scored below 56.7. According to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, this represents 37.54% of the total number of test takers.

The proportion of applicants not achieving the minimum score is decreasing. For admission to tuition-based programs, the minimum threshold has been set at 30% of the maximum score of 189, which equals 56.7.

In recent years, the percentage of candidates who could not reach this score has been declining: in the 2023/2024 academic year — 46%; 2024/2025 — 43%; 2025/2026 — 41%; 2026/2027 — 37.54%. First Deputy Minister of Higher Education Sardor Rajabov explained this situation by pointing to improvements in applicants' knowledge levels and test results.

There is also a noticeable decrease in the number of applicants. In 2026, 677,900 applicants registered online for admission to bachelor's programs.

Previous years' figures include: 2019 — 1,066,925; 2020 — 1,484,085; 2021 — 948,211; 2022 — 1,214,232; 2023 — 1,018,007; 2024 — 894,279; 2025 — 732,411; 2026 — 677,900. Thus, the number of registrants in 2026 has decreased by nearly 340,000 or 33% compared to 2023.

The reduction in the number of applicants may also be influenced by the cessation of admissions for part-time education. In the 2026/2027 academic year, the average passing score for state grants was 134.6, while for tuition-based programs it was 93.7.

In the previous academic year, these figures were: for grants — 121.8; for contracts — 84.9. Therefore, while the proportion of those scoring below the minimum threshold has decreased, the average passing scores for grants and contracts have significantly increased.