Ezozkhon Karimova appointed as Minister of Preschool and School Education

Ezozkhon Karimova has been appointed as Uzbekistan’s Minister of Preschool and School Education, replacing Hilola Umarova, who was recently named deputy chief of the Presidential Administration.

Photo: Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis

Her candidacy was approved by members of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis.

Karimova was born in 1973 in the Namangan district of Namangan region. From 1990 to 1996, she studied at the Faculty of Philosophy at Tashkent State University.

She has held various leadership roles in the education sector. In 2021, she served as head of a department within the Agency for the Development of Presidential, Creative, and Specialized Schools. From 2021 to 2023, she worked as an advisor to the director of the Agency for Presidential Educational Institutions.

In 2023–2024, she served as vice-rector for youth affairs and spiritual-enlightenment work at New Uzbekistan University, which operates under the Ministry of Preschool and School Education.

Most recently, during 2024–2025, she worked as an advisor to the director of the Agency for Specialized Educational Institutions, focusing on enhancing the effectiveness of spiritual-enlightenment efforts and ensuring compliance with legislation on the state language.

In May 2025, Karimova was appointed Deputy Minister of Preschool and School Education and simultaneously served as rector of Nizami Tashkent State Pedagogical University.

As previously reported, the ministerial post became vacant in June 2025 after Hilola Umarova, who had led the ministry since December 2022, was appointed deputy head of the Presidential Administration.

For context, this ministry has seen frequent leadership changes. Karimova is the fifth person to lead the ministry in the past decade. Her predecessors include Ulugbek Inoyatov (2013–2018), Sherzod Shermatov (2018–2021), Bakhtiyor Saidov (2021–2022), and Hilola Umarova (2022–2025).

#Legislative Chamber #Ezozkhon Karimova