Uzbekistan Issues Minutely Detailed Code of Conduct for Students

Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Higher and Secondary Education this month issued an unusually thorough code of conduct for university students, covering such matters as how they should shake hands with professors and the proper time to take bathroom breaks during classes.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty described the code, “Ethical Rules for Higher Education Institutions,” as an attempt by the authoritarian government to keep its youth population in line.

The rules, which must be signed by every student and professor, also restrict freedom of expression, with bans religious clothing and on uploading material to the Internet that is “not in line with national values or related to the internal problems of higher-educational institutions.”