Uzbekistan excluded from the International Biological Olympiad

The International Biological Olympiad (IBO) is a prestigious competition that brings together the most talented and knowledgeable students around the world. This Olympiad is held annually and tests students' knowledge and skills in biology. Uzbekistan has been actively participating in this Olympiad since 1997.

But unfortunately, Uzbekistan was excluded from the 2024 International Biological Olympiad, and the results of all Uzbek students who participated in the Olympiad were canceled. Worse, it was also removed from the list of IBO member states.

This decision was made by the Board of Directors of IBO, due to non-compliance with the rules by the delegation of Uzbekistan. An expert who gave an interview to the website Xalqtaliminfo.uz (he did not want to be named) said that this decision may also put Uzbekistan's future participation at risk.

It turned out that the Uzbek delegation revealed irregularities, violated the principles of academic integrity by Uzbek participants during the Olympiad.

According to the established procedure, despite the fact that the main language of the International Biological Olympiad is English, participants are provided with the opportunity to receive assignments in their native language.

It was noted that at the Olympiad held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 7-14, 2024, special signs were placed in the process of translating the test assignments of one Uzbek student.

The IBO Board of Governors did not make this decision immediately, because the same situation was observed at the International Biological Olympiad held by the Uzbek delegation in 2010, when the students' results were canceled.

As this is the second time this has happened with Uzbekistan, the IBO Board of Governors may have also removed Uzbekistan from the list of IBO member states.

There are also cases of violation of the principles of academic honesty at some Olympiads, competitions and competitions held in Uzbekistan. This seriously undermines not only the fairness of the selections, but also the overall prestige of the education system.

Unfortunately, the violation of the principles of honesty causes students to think that success can be achieved not through work and knowledge, but through deception and fraud. And we see the sad consequences of this.

Uzbekistan's expulsion from the International Biological Olympiad was a major blow to the education system of Uzbekistan. From now on, education policy makers should take measures to improve this situation.

So far, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education has made no official statement on the situation and has not announced its readiness to negotiate with international organizations.

We believe that the ministry will take all necessary measures to return to the International Biological Olympiad.