Topic 1.

Higher education in Azerbaijan and abroad

1. Analysis and history of the concept of higher education

2. Higher education in Azerbaijan
3. Higher education in abroad

1. Analysis and history of the concept of higher education

Higher education is tertiary education leading to the award of an academic degree. Higher
education, which makes up a component of post-secondary, third-level, or tertiary education,
is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary
education. It represents levels 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the 2011 version of the International Standard
Classification of Education structure. Tertiary education at a nondegree level is sometimes
referred to as further education or continuing education as distinct from higher education.
Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an
optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education.
This consists of universities, colleges and polytechnics that offer formal degrees beyond high
school or secondary school education.
The International Standard Classification of Education in 1997 initially classified all tertiary
education together in the 1997 version of its schema. They were referred to as level 5 and
doctoral studies at level 6. In 2011, this was refined and expanded in the 2011 version of the
structure. Higher education at undergraduate level, masters and doctoral level became levels
6, 7, and 8. Nondegree level tertiary education, sometimes referred to as further
education or continuing education was reordered as level 4, with level 5 for some higher
courses.
In the days when few pupils progressed beyond primary education or basic education, the
term "higher education" was often used to refer to secondary education, which can create
some confusion.This is the origin of the term high school for various schools for children
between the ages of 14 and 18 (United States) or 11 and 18 (United Kingdom and Australia)
In the U.S., higher education is
providedby universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, conservatories, and institutes of
technology, and certain college-level institutions, including vocational schools, universities of
applied sciences, trade schools, and other career-based colleges that award degrees. Tertiary
education at a nondegree level is sometimes referred to as further education or continuing
education as distinct from higher education.
Higher education includes teaching, research, exacting applied work, as exists in medical
schools and dental schools, and social services activities of universities.
Within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level, and beyond
that, graduate-level (or postgraduate level). The latter level of education is often referred to
as graduate school, especially in North America. In addition to the skills that are specific to
any particular degree, potential employers in any profession are looking for evidence
of critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills, teamworking skills, information
literacy, ethical judgment, decision-making skills, fluency in speaking and writing, problem
solving skills, and a wide knowledge of liberal arts and sciences.
The oldest known institutions of higher education are credited to Dynastic Egypt, with Pr-
Anx (houses of life) built as libraries and scriptoriums, containing works on law, architecture,
mathematics, and medicine, and involved in the training of "swnw" and "swnwt" (male and
female doctors); extant Egyptian papyri from the 3rd millennia BC are in several collections.
In the Greek world, Plato's Academy (c. 387 - 86 BC), Aristotle's Lyceum (c. 334 - 86 BC)
and other philosophical-mathematical schools became models for other establishments,
particularly in Alexandria of Egypt, under the Ptolemies.
In South Asia, the city of Taxila, later the great Buddhist monastery of Nalanda (c. 427 - 1197
CE), attracted students and professors even from distant regions
In China, the Han dynasty established chairs to teach the Five Confucean Classics, in the
Grand School, Taixue (c. 3 - 1905 CE), to train cadres for the imperial administration.All
these higher-learning institutions became models for other schools within their sphere of
cultural influence.
In 425 CE, the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II innovated as he established
the Pandidakterion, with a faculty of 31 professors, to train public servants. In the 7th and 8th
centuries, "cathedral schools" were created in Western Europe. Meanwhile, the first
Medresahs were founded in the Moslem empire – initially mere primary schools in the
premises of major mosques, which gradually evolved toward secondary, later higher
education. However high the intellectual level of these schools could be, it would be
anachronistic to call them "universities". Their organization and purposes were markedly
different from the corporations of students and teachers, independent from both the Church
and the State, which established themselves from the 12th century in Western Europe
as Universitas Studiorum.
According to UNESCO and Guinness World Records, the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez,
Morocco is the oldest existing continually operating higher educational institution in the
worldand is occasionally referred to as the oldest university by scholars.Undoubtedly, there
are older institutions of higher education, for example, the University of Ez-Zitouna in
Montfleury, Tunis, was first established in 737. The University of Bologna, Italy, founded in
1088, is the world's oldest university in continuous operation,and the first university in the
sense of a higher-learning and degree-awarding institute, as the word universitas was coined
at its foundation.

2. Higher education in Azerbaijan

Education in the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be based on international human rights
conventions, as well as international agreements, which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a Party
to. It shall be developed through integration into global education system whilst prioritizing
national, moral, and universal values in education system.
The key principles of the national policy on education shall be as follows:
humanism – Recognizing as a priority the national and universal values, the
unrestrained development of the individual, human rights and liberties, health and security,
virtues of care, respect, and tolerance for the environment and the people.
democracy – Cultivating the learners in the spirit of free thinking, expansion of the
power and academic independence to organize and administer education under state-social
basis, increasing the autonomy of educational institutions.
equality – creating equal opportunities for all citizens to receive education and
providing for the right to education for them.
national consciousness and secularism – establishment and development of a secular
education system on the basis of protecting national and national and universal values, and
ensuring their dialectic harmony.
efficiency – the organization of education and the scientific words with the
contemporary methods oriented towards development, effectiveness, and which are based on
outcomes.
continuity, unity, and perpetuity – under the existing educational standards, curricula,
and syllabi, the opportunity to receive education at several levels, ensuring a close mutual
dialectic link among various levels of education, and its consistent lifelong continuity.
legacy – the consistent conveyance of knowledge and experience obtained in the field
of education onto the next generation (cycle)
liberalization – extending the openness of the education area and educational activity;
integration – the development of national education through its efficient integration
to the global education system, adaptation, and combination.
The main goals of education in the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be as follows:
 to develop citizens and personalities who understand his/her responsibility and
accountability before the Republic of Azerbaijan and the state, respects his/her nation’s
national traditions and the principles of democracy, human rights and liberties, who is
 committed to the ideas of patriotism and loyal to Azerbaijanism, and who is capable to
think independently and creatively.
 to train progressively thinking and competitive specialists and personnel, who protect
and promote national, moral, and universal values, enjoy a broad world outlook, are able
to assess the initiatives and innovations, and have mastered theoretical and practical
knowledge.
 to ensure the acquisition of systematized knowledge, skills, and abilities, and the
continual improvement of the specialty, to prepare the learners to social life and efficient
labor activity.
Types of education
The following forms of study shall be carried out in the Republic of Azerbaijan:
 formal
 non-formal
 informal
The following states and levels of education shall exist in the Republic of Azerbaijan:
1. pre-school education
2. general Education :
- primary education
- basic education
- secondary education
3. pimary vocational-professional education
secondary Vocational-professional education
4. higher education
- baccalaureate
- master’s degree
- doctorate
Highly specialized experts, scientific and scientific-pedagogic staff shall be trained in
the higher education level taking into account the demands of the society and labor market.
The training of specialists, scientific and scientific-pedagogic staff shall be carried out in
three levels at the higher educational institutions of the Republic of Azerbaijan :
1. Baccalaureate (except for medical education)
2. Master’s degree (except for medical education)
3. Doctorate.
The baccalaureate level of education shall carry out a wide range of specialists with
higher education on educational programs of various majors, on the basis of general
secondary education and secondary vocational-professional education. The Bachelor’s degree
shall be a completed higher education. The graduates who complete Bachelor’s program shall
be provided with Bachelor higher professional-vocational degree. The graduates may work in
all the fields, other than activities in scientific institutions and organizations and the scientific-
pedagogic activity of the higher educational institutions. The content of Bachelor’s program
and the regulations pertaining to these programs shall be determined by the respective
executive authority. Annual paid preparatory groups at the bachelor's level are organized for
higher educational institutions and specialties, established by the relevant executive authority.
The master’s level education shall envisage a deeper study of a specialization field for
scientific-research or professional purposes and shall entitle the graduates to engage in a
professional activity, scientific-research and scientific-pedagogic work. The content of and
regulations pertaining to the master’s education shall be determined by the respective
executive authority. Master’s level program may only operate at the institutions of higher
education and organizations, established by the relevant executive authorities, having
sufficient scientific-pedagogical staff, material-technical assets and educational infrastructure.
The provisions established by this Law for higher educational institutions, carrying out
educational activities at the master's level, are extended to a scientific organization,
established by the relevant executive authority. In accordance with the curricula and the
national educational standards in the field of medical education, the education shall be
divided into basic and residency and graduates receive the higher professional degrees, doctor
of medicine and doctor specialist, respectively. The content of and regulations pertaining to
residency education shall be determined by the respective executive authority.
Post-graduate (doctoral) education
Doctoral level education shall be the highest level of higher education which
develops scientific and scientific-pedagogical staff and offers advanced professional and
scientific degrees. The post-graduate education shall be provided through doctorate programs
at the institutions of higher education, scientific establishments and organizations (or
postgraduate programs at the military schools) and leads to the relevant scientific degree. The
scientific degrees shall be conferred by the dissertation boards within the institutions of higher
education and scientific establishments. The following scientific degrees shall be established
in the Republic of Azerbaijan: - Philosophy doctor – indicating the field of science;
- Doctor of science - indicating the field of science.
The procedures for establishment of a doctorate program, admissions to the post
graduate study, conferring scientific degrees and the pertinent policies shall be determined by
the respective executive authority. The admission of foreigners and stateless persons to
doctorate programs is carried out in accordance with international treaties of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Science" and this Law, as well as on
the basis of a contract concluded between a higher educational institution and a foreigner or
stateless person.
The individuals who complete the post-graduate studies and receive the relevant
scientific degree shall be provided with a state document in the prescribed form – the
diploma, which acknowledges that scientific degree.Scientific-pedagogical staff from the
institutions of higher education, scientific institutions and organizations and other entities
shall be also provided with scientific degrees via the doctoral programs offered through
«correspondence». The procedures for admission of students through correspondence to the
relevant departments of higher education, scientific institutions and organizations shall be
determined by the respective executive authority. The staff at the higher education
institutions shall be provided with scientific titles for their achievements in science and
teaching through the approved procedure. Following scientific titles shall be established in the
Republic of Azerbaijan:
-assistant professor;
- professor.
The procedures and requirements for conferring the titles of professor and assistant
professor shall be established by the respective executive authority. The higher education
institutions in the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be entitled to confer the scientific titles of
professor/doctor emeritus in accordance with the relevant procedure. The procedures and
requirements for conferring the titles of professor/doctor emeritus shall be determined in
accordance with the charter of the higher education institution and scientific institution.

3. Higher education in abroad