ONLY "HIGHER EDUCATION"

Summer is a hot season not just because of the weather, but also because emotions run high in university entrance exams. During these days, you can see crowds of school-leavers in front of the buildings where tests are held, as they nervously grip their exam documentation, surrounded by numerous relatives turning out in support. We have to say that, every year, more and more people want to obtain higher education in Azerbaijan; this is graphically proved by the statistics. 

For example, in 2006, 105,537 school-leavers submitted their papers to enter universities. In comparison, only 99,000 people submitted their papers in 2005. As a result, 23,876 applicants became students in 2005 and 22,927 in 2006. This year 106,806 school-leavers expressed their desire to become students, which is the highest number in recent years.

This demand for higher education cannot but be pleasing. However, it is clear that it is not enough to get a university degree, because yesterday's student will not become a good specialist if his diploma is not backed up by real knowledge. Unfortunately, this happens in our country all the time. Another problem of the modern higher education system is that very often young people choose their profession not because it will be in high demand on the labour market in the future, but from quite a different motivation. The sad result of this situation is that thousands of university graduates are not needed by the state or private sector.

A manager with a chemist's diploma

Leyla Masimova was the most promising pupil of a Baku school. Her constant victories in district and city competitions indicated that all her future life would be related to science. Leyla herself kept saying that she dreamt of becoming a chemist and would definitely enter the chemistry faculty after leaving school. Leyla's parents did not hire tutors; they could not afford such a luxury due to their family's financial situation. In any case, no-one doubted that Leyla would enter university, even without a tutor.

In 1997, Leyla became a student of Baku State University, having entered the chemistry faculty. Her classes at the university were incredibly easy for her as teachers unanimously agreed that the girl had a great future. However, these predictions were not fated to come true. Having graduated from the university with a red diploma, the girl applied to study for a master's degree. However, having passed her exams, she found out that she could only have paid classes because the two free places had already been "taken". In total despair, Leyla decided that she would definitely try again the following year and decided to find a temporary job related to her speciality. But it became clear that the profession of a chemist does not rate highly. She was refused a job at several foreign oil companies and was told that they needed chemists with foreign diplomas. Nor did she find a teacher's job at a secondary school, as she was told that they did not have any vacancies. Leyla asked her fellow students how they were getting on after graduating from the country's main university. It turned out that she was not the only one who had the same problem - none of the 20 graduates from this faculty is working in their speciality. One had to train for a new profession, another was sitting at home without a job and yet another was doing an unqualified job. Leyla had no choice but to go for the last option. Upon her friends' recommendation, she was hired as a manager in a Baku hotel. This option was the best of the jobs of waitress, vendor and others that she was offered. Leyla does not like her job at all, although she is paid more than she would receive if she worked as a school teacher. She had to say goodbye to her dreams of a scientific career because, as years passed, she realized that she would not be able to make money at it even if she worked in her favourite chemistry. Leyla could not afford this as she has to support her ailing parents.

Lawyers and technicians are in the lead

It is clear that there are many stories like this in Azerbaijan. But it is not clear why the relevant organizations are not regulating the plan of admission to the different faculties according to the requirements of the modern labour market. By giving free education that will not be needed in the future, the state is sustaining colossal losses. As a result, the "victims" are graduates of these faculties who are sidelined by the labour market and join the army of unwanted specialists.

The head of the press service of the State Students Admission Commission (SSAC), Hikmat, Kazimov, told R+ that, this year, 27,464 places have been allocated for those who have applied to universities in four groups of specialities, whereas 106,806 applications have been filed. Thus, 8,238 people will become students in the first group, 7,270 in the second group, 8,665 in the third group and 3,291 in the fourth group. 

Just as in previous years, the biggest fuss is made about the third group of specialities, as there are 41,242 applicants for 8,665 places. Such great rivalry is also explained by the fact that in compliance with changes to the model of university entrance exams, the fifth group of specialities has been abolished and incorporated into the third group.

As for faculties that are more popular with school-leavers in comparison with last year, the gradation of prestigious specialities has not undergone any changes in the third, most popular, group this year. The most popular faculty with Azerbaijani sector applicants is the faculty of Azerbaijani language and literature at Baku State University and with Russian sector applicants - the faculty of English language at the Language University. The second most popular faculty among both the Russian and Azerbaijani sectors is the faculty of law at Baku State University. The third most popular one is the paid section of the same faculty at Baku State University.

As for the second most popular group of specialities, it is the first technical group. Those who apply for this group prefer mainly the faculties of the Azerbaijani Oil Academy. The first group is followed by the second and fourth groups. The results of the exams will be announced in August.

The SSAC said that new faculties are set up in the country every year to train specialists in new subjects. For example, a faculty of Scandinavian studies was set up at the Language University last year. This year Azerbaijani sector students will be able to study the speciality "Philology, German language and literature". According to SSAC employees, the initiative to open a new faculty comes mainly from the universities themselves as they independently analyze the situation surrounding the demand for certain specialisms. Then the proposal to set up a new faculty is submitted to the Ministry of Education, which makes the final decision.

Who is to blame and what are we to do?

Is the Ministry of Education monitoring the labour market in Azerbaijan in order to select students according to market requirements? The department of higher and special education at the ministry told R+ that certain work is being carried out in this direction. Otherwise, universities would not be setting up new faculties, the demand for which is dictated by the requirements of reality. However, in fact, the proposal to open a new faculty comes from interested organizations. Specialists in the department say that, for example, this year the Ministry of Labour and Social Security proposed setting up in Azerbaijan a faculty to train social workers, as there are very few of them in the country. In compliance with this proposal, an agreement has already been reached to open such a faculty at Baku State University next year. The faculty will train bachelors in this speciality.

The ministry also mentioned that Azerbaijan has joined the Bologna Process, the main idea of which is to set up a common European area of higher education in order to increase citizens' mobility in the labour market and to increase the competitiveness of European higher education.

Nevertheless, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education did not explain why there are so many unemployed people with higher education in our country, where so many specialists graduate from university every year. What is the main problem? The main problem is that the system of higher education is lame in both legs, which is why "specialists" are not really specialists and spend four years at university just to get a diploma, not a qualified profession. Another problem is that the number of graduates is several times higher than is actually needed in the labour market.

According to economist Ilqar Ismayilov, the requirements of the modern market have undergone considerable change. This applies to all spheres of activity, be it working specialities or management.

"Of course, the demand for various professions has changed as well. Technical specialities, not humanitarian ones, are in demand today. The divide between these two specialities is tremendous. People who know how to use a computer are required on the labour market today. Staff for a whole number of old professions are selected for new modern professions, not to mention those new professions that did not exist five or 10 years ago. Even the system of management at government agencies has changed. Despite this, the principle of training specialists in many countries with a transitional economy, including Azerbaijan, remains the same and cannot meet the requirements of the market. The oil sphere is more developed in the country today, and we can see how the level of professional training for people working in foreign companies is changing. But the oil sector does not reflect the whole economic potential of the state, which is why it is high time to focus on other spheres of life," Ismayilov pointed out.

"Diploma disease"

According to the programme director for education policy at the Modern Education Centre, Elmina Kazimzada, it is necessary to admit that the training of specialists in the country has limited relevance to the labour market.

"The point is that universities are working only to the requirements of applicants and their parents. They do not care at all what will happen to graduates after they leave the university," she pointed out. Law, international relations and international law - even the names of these faculties have a magic effect on many of our countrymen who are guided only by the principles of prestige and elite, not by the demand for these professions on the labour market.

"This is a very big mistake by parents who mislead their children. Parents hire tutors for their children when they are still in the ninth form and pay them a lot of money just to make sure that their child enters some sort of 'elite' faculty. All these investments can be described as short-term because the profession they join will not secure a cloudless future for their child. Many graduates from the same faculties of law and international relations have had to train for a new profession or have no jobs. In that case, why do we need so many specialists?"

According to specialists, it is necessary to carry out a vocational guidance campaign among parents and their children while at school. There is another important problem: no-one bears responsibility for the specialists they train. The system that works here is you get in, study and get your diploma. Unfortunately, the so-called "diploma disease" flourishes in our society; citizens are concerned only about having a document, but it is often not backed up by anything.

This situation has caused foreign companies and even government agencies recently to select foreign university graduates when they employ personnel. Eventually no-one will need higher education in Azerbaijan. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to stop worrying about numbers and concentrate on the quality of education at institutions of higher education.

Azerbaijan is sustaining great losses by giving free education to an army of students who graduate from university and cannot use their diploma - great expense on the process of education with zero payback, which means we have to reconsider our attitude to the system of higher education altogether. Universities themselves should be interested in giving high quality education in professions required on the labour market. This can be done by means of investment in higher education and allocation of funds to reconsider old education programmes which are no longer relevant. The country should draw up a flexible system of financing the system of higher education.

"Great hopes are pinned on the law 'On education'. But even the adoption of this law will not change the situation. Perhaps, after parliament approves the law 'On education', another law will be adopted which will apply only to higher education. Only this will have an impact on the current situation. But apparently, this will not happen soon," Kazimzada said.

The hot summer season is still here - school-leavers are excited while graduates are preparing to defend their theses. Time will show what awaits them in the future. But today we have an obvious imbalance between what universities are "producing" and what the country's labour market needs…