1. Although there was no formal declaration of war, there was large-scale combat between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces over the Nagorno-Karabagh area, which is situated in south-western Azerbaijan and has predominantly Armenian population. The result has been many thousand deaths and over one million refugees and displaced persons. Since the cease-fire in 1994, there have been no major outbreaks of violence, yet there has also been no significant movement towards creating a basis for a lasting peace. As a consequence of the conflict, Azerbaijan and Turkey maintain a complete blockade on Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh, few refugees or internationally displaced persons returned to their homes, and economic and social development remained static. The conflict disrupted educational opportunities for the majority of children in the Nagorno-Karabagh area and strained the mainstream education system in Azerbaijan as it had to accommodate children of over one million refugees and internally displaced persons.
2. These surveys were based on a modified version of a questionnaire designed for the Lithuanian study on private tutoring (entitled “The scope of private tutoring for Matura examinations in Lithuania”), which was conducted by the Centre of Education Policy of Vilnius University in 2003.
3. The high/low demand of university programs was identified based on the data from the State Student Admission Commission (2004) about the scores necessary to enter specific higher education programs. For example, the high demand programs required scores ranging from 350-600, while the low demand programs required scores below 350.
4. Other programs include programs high demand programs at private universities, which usually required low university entry test scores (e.g., political science, sociology, etc.).
5. One private school has six different branches across the country. 6. The Education for All (EFA) Azerbaijan report (2000) stated that there was no demand for private schools, because "the state provides every citizen with the right to a free and compulsory general secondary education." The report (2000) further explained that, “as a result [of state provision of free compulsory general education], the private sector is active only in post-secondary education.” In practice, however, vagueness in the legislative guidelines with regard to establishing private schools has discouraged development of the private sector in education.
7. During the Soviet period, higher education admissions were administered by each higher education institution based on relatively subjective oral and written student examinations. In an
effort to break away from the Soviet practices and fight corruption, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan asked the Turkish government for assistance with the introduction of centralized university examinations. The subsequent establishment of the State Student Admission Commission (SSAC) severely limited the freedom of higher education institutions in administering student admissions and thus reduced corruption at the level of university entrance (i.e., a common practice of paying for university placements).
8. When applying for the centralized university entry examination, applicants could choose up to 15 occupations, divided into five main occupational groups. The groups were (a) mathematics, physics, engineering, chemical technology, architecture, art and design; the (b) economics, management, and geography; (c) humanities, art and music; (d) medicine, biology, chemistry and sports; and (e), sociology, psychology and pedagogic. According to SSAC (2004), the most popular occupational groups were the first and the second, while the least popular was the fifth.
9. One study revealed that nearly 95 percent of the students had experienced a passive learning process (i.e., passive listening and questions and answers), and that interactive methods were not widely used by teachers (Crawford, 2000). 10. Since 1999, the MOE has attempted to gradually introduce a new general education curriculum designed to better prepare students for participation in Azerbaijan's rapidly changing economy and society. This reform has also been supported through the Education Reform Project (LIL) assisted by the International Development Association (IDA) that started the curriculum reform process for selected grades. The overall education reform plan includes comprehensive changes in curriculum, teacher training and institutional reform within sector. In 2002 the Education Reform Project was reviewed, and a Ten Year Strategy funded by the World Bank was launched The design presented three stages, with the support of a World Bank loan of approximately US $73 million (phase I of $18 million, phase II of $25 million, and phase III of $30 million). 11. According to the World Bank (2002) estimates based on qualitative reports, only about 60-70 percent of the students in grades 5-11 in rural areas had core textbooks. Moreover, the limited textbook supply tended to be old, based on obsolete knowledge and of poor condition.
12. In some cases, especially in rural areas, deteriorated school buildings may present a serious hazard since many are in need of major repair (e.g., roof, heating, water, sewerage). Many rural schools also lack regular electricity (World Bank, 2002).
13. In-service teacher training is provided in Baku by the Baku In-service Education Institute and outside Baku through 12 regional affiliates of the Azerbaijan Teachers Institute. However, most of these teacher training centers are poorly staffed and ill-equipped to deliver effective teacher training (World Bank, 2002).
14. Over the past decade, the SSAC has brought a new approach to assessing student learning outcomes. Test questions are designed to assess student learning competencies based on specific criteria, including student knowledge of subject terminology and factual information, as well as student ability to generalize, explain, calculate, predict, and recommend actions.
15. According to the Head of Testing Methodology Department of the SSAC, Rahim Guseynov, the questions included in centralized tests completely matched school curricula and any changes in school curriculum were immediately reflected in university admission tests.
16. The World Bank (2002) estimated that state expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 3.7 percent in 2001.
17. The norm for teaching is 12 hours for which teachers are paid between AZM 80,000 to AZM 120,000 (on average about between US$20-25). However, the average load for teachers in urban areas is 18 hours and some teach up to two loads (24 hours) to double their income. School directors are the main authority to increase the number of teaching hours, based on the school needs and other non-transparent criteria (World Bank, 2002). 18. The World Bank poverty assessment report (quoted in World Bank, 2002) indicates that private spending on education considerably increased during the 1990s, mainly because of informal payments. As the World Bank report (2002) highlighted, informal payments exist on both the
supply as well as the demand side. On the supply side, they include buying jobs and paying to have more hours of teaching, which then translates to more income. On the demand side, they range from paying to get into better schools or better classes with the best teachers within schools, to paying for the basic needs, grades, absenteeism, and private tutoring.
19. Given that the vast majority of students use private tutoring lessons, as opposed to private tutoring courses, this section will primarily focus on private tutoring lessons.
20. For the university sample, the low percentage of students using private tutoring in sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) can be explained by the fact that the study did not target students from higher education programs that include science subjects on centralized university entrance examinations (i.e. programs I & IV). The students surveyed were from higher education programs II & IV, which require the following subjects on entrance exams: mathematics, geography, foreign language, and native language/literature (for the second group) and mathematics, history, foreign language, and native language/literature (for the fifth group).
21. In Azerbaijan, one academic hour equals 80 minutes. This is a typical duration of both university and private tutoring lessons.
22. See the section on equity for a more detailed discussion of this issue.
23. Research on “formal and non-formal payments in the educational system of Azerbaijan,” which was conducted by Sigma (2000) shows higher costs of private tutoring lessons, with foreign language and math tutors charging up to US$30-40 per academic hour in Baku and US$10 per academic hour in rural areas.
24. For institutions offering private tutoring courses, the formula for distribution of incomes looks like the following: 18 percent Value Added Tax, 49 payment to the teacher, 33 percent income of the institution offering private tutoring courses.
25. During the Soviet period, corruption was widespread in universities, and the three countries in the Caucasus were infamous for selling university admissions.
26. The survey covered a sample of 1,708 teachers.
27. Interviews with students and teachers reveal that student absence is often not officially recorded. Fearing that they will be reprimanded for school non-attendance by the school authorities, students pay bribes to their teachers or school directors to conceal their absence.
28. According to the Transparency International Report (2004), Azerbaijan is ranked 140 of 145 countries in a Corruption Perception Index. Of a maximum score of 10 (with 10 being least corrupt and one being most corrupt), Azerbaijan has scored less than two.
29. 57.1 percent of all secondary school students (231,000) constitute 131,901 students who pay, on average, US$434 a year o
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