Ms. Ayten Giyas, an Azerbaijani female blogger - a rare phenomenon in Azerbaijan and in the South Caucasus - and translator, has recently published an interesting post in which she pays tribute to her former university professors/educators/mentors and expresses some regrets regarding the persistence of corruption in higher education. She writes:
… 15 years ago, back in December 1993, I was among the students who got enrolled at Department of Linguistics of Azerbaijan State University of Languages to become a translator/interpreter.
I must also go back and say that in Soviet times it was virtually impossible to get enrolled at this and many other universities … without paying substantial amounts of money, unofficially of course…
According to Ms. Giyas the situation changed after the independence of 1991:
One of the first and best things that happened in Azerbaijan was the transfer to written test system … which enabled people to get enrolled at universities they wished without having to bribe anyone. In 1995 it was the second year when this new system was in place and I was one of the citizens who benefited from it.
The studies started weirdly in December because the country had no capacity to check the results internally and tests had to go to Turkey (I think) to be checked and shipped back. Nowadays, after 15 years, results are known the same day and future students are able to check the results on TV with live announcements...
According to Ms. Giyas, the change to standardized entrance exams does not, however, seem to have changed much. Corruption persists. This doesn’t mean that some very committed instructors were not or are not found in different universities in Azerbaijan (same in Armenia or elsewhere), instructors who are truly focused on educating their students. Ms. Giyas remarks:
… I must say that nowadays when I hear comments about corruption and low standards in Azeri universities I emotionally refuse to accept that this applies to each and all because that was not and I am sure is not true for many committed professionals that spend their life teaching those who want to learn, grow and develop…
I would like to thank Onnik Krikorian for signaling Ms. Giyas blog to me.
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… 15 years ago, back in December 1993, I was among the students who got enrolled at Department of Linguistics of Azerbaijan State University of Languages to become a translator/interpreter.
I must also go back and say that in Soviet times it was virtually impossible to get enrolled at this and many other universities … without paying substantial amounts of money, unofficially of course…
According to Ms. Giyas the situation changed after the independence of 1991:
One of the first and best things that happened in Azerbaijan was the transfer to written test system … which enabled people to get enrolled at universities they wished without having to bribe anyone. In 1995 it was the second year when this new system was in place and I was one of the citizens who benefited from it.
The studies started weirdly in December because the country had no capacity to check the results internally and tests had to go to Turkey (I think) to be checked and shipped back. Nowadays, after 15 years, results are known the same day and future students are able to check the results on TV with live announcements...
According to Ms. Giyas, the change to standardized entrance exams does not, however, seem to have changed much. Corruption persists. This doesn’t mean that some very committed instructors were not or are not found in different universities in Azerbaijan (same in Armenia or elsewhere), instructors who are truly focused on educating their students. Ms. Giyas remarks:
… I must say that nowadays when I hear comments about corruption and low standards in Azeri universities I emotionally refuse to accept that this applies to each and all because that was not and I am sure is not true for many committed professionals that spend their life teaching those who want to learn, grow and develop…
I would like to thank Onnik Krikorian for signaling Ms. Giyas blog to me.
>
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