Rahmon appointed the plagiarist as president of the National Academy of Sciences

On January 16, the Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, made personnel changes.

In particular, the president relieved Kobiljon Khushvaxtzoda from the position of rector of the National University of Tajikistan and appointed him as the president of the National Academy of Sciences of the country.

Previously, in October 2022, the “Dissernet” portal accused Kobiljon of plagiarism. An examination by “Dissernet” found that Barfiev Kobiljon Khushvaxtovich, rector of the National University of Tajikistan, who obtained a PhD in economics from the Tajik Agrarian University in 2010, had fully or partially copied 94 pages from other authors without citing sources in his scientific dissertation, which consisted of 134 pages.

After the publication of this article on the “Dissernet” portal, the media reported that the rector of one of the largest universities in Tajikistan had stolen someone else’s intellectual property, presenting himself as a scholar and a candidate of sciences in the field of economics.

Previously, the position of president of the National Academy of Sciences was held by Farhod Rahimi. By the decree of the head of government, Rahimi was appointed chairman of the newly established Committee for Primary and Secondary Vocational Education under the government of Tajikistan. By creating this committee, the government separated primary and secondary vocational education from the structures of the Ministry of Education and Science.

Also on January 16, by his decree, the president relieved Hokim Kholikzoda from the position of chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan and immediately appointed him as the first deputy prime minister of Tajikistan. This position had been vacant since Davlatali Said was dismissed from it. Kholikzoda was succeeded by Firdavs Tolibzoda, who previously held the position of first deputy chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan.

By the president’s decree, Ikromi Sirojiddin Salom was appointed as the deputy chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan. Previously, he was the chairman of the State Unitary Enterprise “Savings Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan ‘Amonatbonk’.” He was succeeded in this position by former deputy of the National Bank Salimzoda Alijon Abdudjalol.

By the president’s decree, Mirzo Khurshed Faizullozoda was relieved of the position of first deputy chairman of the State Committee for Investments and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan and appointed director of the Agency for Innovations and Digital Technologies under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, which was also recently established. At the same time, he holds the position of first deputy president of the Football Federation of Tajikistan. According to some reports, Faizullozoda is one of the close friends of the president’s son Rustam Emomali.