Under the previous Regulation, the following were not eligible to participate in the open scholarship competition:

a) under bachelor's degree programs - over 25 years of age, previously studied in a bachelor's degree abroad in a similar field of study;

b) for master's degree programs - younger than 20 and older than 45 years, as well as those who have previously studied in a master's degree abroad in a similar specialty;

c) in doctoral educational programs (including for obtaining the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Science (DSc) through postgraduate studies) - younger than 22 and older than 45 years, as well as those who have previously obtained the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Candidate of Sciences or Doctor of Sciences (DSc) abroad;

d) having less than 2 years of work experience in the chosen specialty;

According to the new Regulation of May 5, 2025, the following persons are prohibited from participating:

a) over 30 years of age under the bachelor's degree program, as well as those who have previously studied bachelor's degrees abroad in a similar specialty;

b) under the age of 22 and over 40 years for the master's degree program, as well as those who have previously studied in a master's degree abroad in the same or related specialty;

c) under the doctoral educational program (including for obtaining the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Science (DSc) through postgraduate studies) - younger than 25 and older than 45 years, as well as those who have previously received the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Candidate of Sciences or Doctor of Sciences (DSc) abroad, who have received the academic degree of Doctor of Sciences (DSc) in Uzbekistan;

d) having less than 1 year of work experience when applying for a master's degree program, and less than 2 years for a doctoral program;

As you can see, good news has been made for the bachelor's degree, meaning that previously those over 25 couldn't participate, now it's allowed up to 30 years old.

But for the master's degree, they ran both in length and width. That is, they made it impossible for those under 22 and those over 40 to apply. The previous Regulation did not allow persons under 20 and over 45 years of age.

Several young people who are now 21 years old and have entered master's programs at prestigious universities in the TOP-100 have contacted me, saying they couldn't apply for the El-yurt Umidi Foundation scholarship. The only reason for refusal is that they are 21 years old or not yet 22 years old.

I don't want to say whether this decision is right or wrong, because I don't know the reasons yet. I searched open sources, but couldn't find an explanation for why such a change was made (perhaps it exists, but I haven't seen it).

At this point, I had several questions for those responsible:

What is the reason why a 21-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan cannot apply for a master's degree scholarship? What is his fault? What arguments lie behind this decision? What scientific research or inquiries led to this decision?

And another question: what should 21-year-olds do now? What guidance, assistance, and advice are provided to them? Or do we just push her away saying "your age doesn't match"?