The first meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Korea was held in Seoul on June 14. Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies Iltimas Mammadov headed Azerbaijan`s delegation at the event, whose composition was approved by the order of the country`s President. Deputy Minister of Education Firudin Gurbanov addressed the meeting. He said similarities between the two countries and peoples played a vital role in the development of the bilateral ties. Firudin Gurbanov hailed educational cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea: “Azerbaijani and Korean languages are taught at leading universities of our countries, and cooperation between our educational institutions is expanding.” “The memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development of the Republic of Korea forms the legal basis of our countries` relations in the field of education,” he said. After the event Firudin Gurbanov met with manager of Posco Daewoo Corporation Lee Jong Moo. Jong Moo said they were interested in establishing a vocational education and training center in Baku. The Azerbaijani Deputy Education Minister also held a meeting with representatives of Korean Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training and department head at the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development Kim Chohong. They discussed cooperation prospects. Firudin Gurbanov also met with Azerbaijani students studying in the Republic of Korea and responded to their questions.

16/06/2016 16:00

The last bell rang at Shusha city secondary school No. 1 in Baku on June 14. Participants in the ceremony included Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov, head of Shusha District Executive Authority Bayram Safarov, MPs, representatives of the district`s education community, parents and schoolchildren. The ceremony started with the playing of the state anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov made opening remarks at the event. He congratulated 11th grade students on their graduation, and wished them further accomplishments. The minister said that many Azerbaijani scientists, enlighteners and military commanders were graduates of Shusha city secondary school No. 1, whose history spanned 185 years. “In 1982, on the initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev, the 150th anniversary of the school was celebrated in the city of Shusha, which is now under Armenian occupation.” “The school has been located in Baku since its occupation in 1992. Under President Mr. Ilham Aliyev`s order a 1200-seat state-of-the-art building was constructed for the school,” said Mikayil Jabbarov. The minister also said that Azerbaijan`s human capital was “the main goal of our statehood philosophy”. “Building a favorable education environment, increasing the quality of education are among our key priorities. And this requires fruitful cooperation between school principles, teachers and parents.” Mikayil Jabbarov said it was important for youth to be very careful in their career choice. “Nowadays to have flexible decision-making skills and ability to make right choices is of vital importance. The main challenge is that perfect education is now needed like never before.” The Minister of Education also underlined the importance of raising young people in patriotic spirit and preparing them for citizenship. Head of Shusha District Executive Authority Bayram Safarov and MP Bakhtiyar Sadigov wished graduates success. On behalf of graduates, Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov was presented with a drawing of Jidir Duzu, which is considered the pearl of Shusha. The event also featured an artistic performance of schoolchildren. Following the ceremony, the participants viewed the school.

16/06/2016 12:26

Teachers employed on termless contracts in the country`s general education institutions and vocational schools, who want to be transferred from one district (city) to another, will take a test on June 16-17, 2016. A total of 2107 teachers qualified for the test, with the majority being primary school, Azerbaijani language and literature, and English language teachers. Detailed information on venue and date of the test is available at teachers` personal accounts.

16/06/2016 10:40

A total of 110,222 9th grade and 88,591 11th grade schoolchildren finished general education institutions in Azerbaijan in 2015-2016 academic year. The figures were 26,614 and 20,052 for 9th and 11th grades respectively in the country`s capital. A total of 164,033 children across Azerbaijan are expected to be enrolled in first grades in 2016-2017 academic year. Under the amendment made to the “Model statue of general school” in accordance with the resolution No. 362 dated October 30, 2014 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, classes in general education institutions ended on June 14. Under the relevant order of the Minister of Education (http://edu.gov.az/az/page/451/12615), last bell ceremonies are held in general education institutions across the country. Like in previous years, last bell ceremonies are organized by the schools themselves, with all measures taken to ensure the safety of schoolchildren. Representatives of parental committees, parent-teacher associations and public are also involved in these ceremonies. We wish graduates success in their future life and studies!

16/06/2016 09:32

On June 13, the last bell rang at Classical Gymnasium N. 160 in the city of Baku. Participants in the ceremony included deputy Minister of Education Jeyhun Bayramov, and representatives of Baku City Education Department and Sabayil District Executive Authority. The ceremony started with the playing of the national anthem. The tricolor of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the flag of the gymnasium were brought to the ceremony site to the accompaniment of a military orchestra. Principal Faina Alakbarova highlighted the achievements of the gymnasium`s pupils at local and international Olympiads. She said Classical Gymnasium N. 160 had an enrollment of more than 2300 pupils, with 130 of them graduating this year. Deputy Minister of Education Jeyhun Bayramov congratulated graduates on the last bell ceremony, and wished them success in their future life. Saying that graduates entered a new stage of their life, Jeyhun Bayramov expressed his confidence that as Azerbaijani citizens they would contribute to the country`s accomplishments in all spheres. The ceremony then featured “Last bell” sketch made by pupils of the gymnasium. Sabayil district secondary school No. 160 was established in 1943. The building of the school was built in 1908. In 2006, the school was made Classical Gymnasium N. 160, a high-level state general education institution. The gymnasium now enrolls more than 2300 pupils representing nearly 30 nationalities in 69 classes. Pupils study here in Azerbaijani and Russian sections in two full shifts. In 2008 and 2013, Classical Gymnasium N. 160 was named “Best general education institution of the year” under orders of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The last bell rang in some general education institutions on June 13 as the roads encompassed by Baku City Circuit, as well as the areas around the track will be closed for traffic on the eve of the 2016 Formula One Grand Prix of Europe.

14/06/2016 14:31

“Bridge of Friendship” international children`s and youth festival of folklore and dance was held at the Children`s Creativity Center in Guba on June 10-15. The festival aimed to strengthen friendly ties among the peoples of Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkey and Georgia. A total of 426 people participated in the festival, including 219 guests. The first day of the event featured a festival of dance in Baku and Guba. Starting from 2011, the Children`s Creativity Center in Guba has successfully participated in and won awards at numerous international festivals in Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey. As part of the festivals members of the center made presentations on customs and traditions of Azerbaijan. In view of great interest in the festival, Georgian, Turkish and Moldavian delegates were invited to Azerbaijan.  The main objective of the festival is to promote culture of participant countries and contribute to strengthening friendly ties through dance troupes.

13/06/2016 11:49

“Children are a guarantee of our future” social project has wrapped up. Part of School Communities project, it was held by AXA MBASK insurance company in partnership with the Ministry of Education and “Community.az” portal. The project featured a survey on the official website of School Communities project (www.community.az) involving teachers, parents and schoolchildren as part of trainings on different topics. According to results of the survey, two topics were chosen – “Dad, mom and I: how can we understand each other?” and “Behavioral problems in children”. A series of trainings were held in the cities of Ganja, Shaki, Lankaran and Guba on these topics. The trainings were attended by more than 2000 parents, schoolchildren and teachers. The project and trainings aim to increase effectiveness of communication between parents and children, address behavioral problems including aggressiveness, anxiety, lying, and provide an insight into methods of raising children in the right way and ways of constructive interaction given children`s personal qualities. The trainings were conducted by professional psychologists of the encouragement organization of “Community.az” school communities project. The project aims to pave the way for all-round education of children and increase the effectiveness of education process through ensuring communication among schoolchildren, parents and teachers. Part of AXA Group, the world leader on the insurance market, AXA MBASK believes that such projects contribute to raising children and youth as citizens with a broad worldview.

13/06/2016 11:45

On June 9, the Ministry of Education hosted a meeting involving employees of around 50 companies and ministry staff as part of IT Internship Program designed to provide internship opportunities for SABAH group students at higher education institutions in Azerbaijan. The project aims to train students in compliance with IT sector employment requirements, and build cooperation with local and international companies for providing them with internship programs. The project will be executed as part of cooperation between the Department of Informatization of Education System under the Ministry of Education, SABAH project Executive Committee and Microsoft Azerbaijan. SABAH group first, second and third year students specializing in IT will be provided with Microsoft-developed training resources, and pass Microsoft Technology Associate certification. The students will also receive pre-exam consultation from local Microsoft specialists. Students, who perform well at exams, will be given the opportunity to take an internship at partner companies, where they will put what they learnt at higher education institutions and during trainings into practice. The project was presented at Azerbaijan Technical University on May 25-27 with the aim of involving SABAH group students. More than 100 students joined the event. Launched in 2014-2015 academic year, SABAH groups now enroll more than 1600 students in 11 higher education institutions. SABAH project is designed to create long-term and comprehensive conditions for quality changes in the education system.

13/06/2016 11:43

Winners of “Spring yard” project, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and IDEA Public Union with the aim of planting trees and shrubs in schoolyards, were awarded on June 8. Speaking at the award ceremony, deputy Minister of Education Firudin Gurbanov said the project played an important role in building schoolchildren`s and youth`s ecological worldview and environmental culture, and also encouraged their active involvement in addressing environmental problems, and caring and humane attitude to nature. General Coordinator of IDEA Public Union Farid Jafarov highlighted the projects jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and IDEA with the aim of preserving environmental balance in Azerbaijan. “Spring yard” project involved 15 higher and 26 secondary education institutions in the cities of Baku, Ganja and Sumgayit. The project had a positive impact on environmental situation of education institutions and students` health, and also contributed to the expansion of schoolchildren`s and students` environmental knowledge and stimulation of their caring attitude to nature. Under the project, students and schoolchildren planted around 12,000 trees and shrubs, and carried out cleaning and maintenance work in schoolyards. IDEA gave nest boxes to each education institution involved in the project. The Ministry of Education and IDEA held a competition among 26 general education institutions in the cities of Baku, Ganja and Sumgayit. Schools that built the tidiest and most beautiful “Spring yard” became winners of the competition. The winners received certificates and different prizes.

10/06/2016 15:46

For the information of residents of Astara, Lankaran, Lerik, Yardimli, Masalli and Jalilabad districts! In accordance with June 2016 timetable of reception hours of government executives, Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov will receive residents of Astara, Lankaran, Lerik, Yardimli, Masalli and Jalilabad districts at the Heydar Aliyev Center in the city of Lankaran at 11.00 on June 20. IDPs with temporary residence in Astara, Lankaran, Lerik, Yardimli, Masalli and Jalilabad districts can also attend the reception. The citizens who want to attend may contact the Call Center of the Ministry of Education (hotline – 146) or register at http://edu.gov.az/az/contacts/request on June 9, 10, 13, 14 and 16. Those registered are requested to present, upon their arrival, a written description of the issues they plan to raise during the reception.

10/06/2016 15:03