Page 40 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.77, # 2, 2020, pp. 40-60

TRANSFORMATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN
AZERBAIJAN: REFORMS, POLICIES AND CURRENT
TRENDS

Turan Suleymanov

Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Baku, Azerbaijan, e-mail:
[email protected]
Received September 25; accepted December 2020; published online 28 December 2020

ABSTRACT:
The higher education system in Azerbaijan has gone through tremendous changes
during the last three decades. Since regaining its independence from the USSR,
Azerbaijan has had to abolish the Soviet approach to higher education and establish
a new institutional system and legal framework in order to address the needs and
demands of the country for human capital during the transition period from a
planned economy to a free market economy. The transition process has taken more
than two decades. Despite such a long period, there have been limited studies
conducted on the higher education reforms and the transformation of the higher
education system in Azerbaijan. This article aims to examine reforms within the
Azerbaijani higher education system. The article is divided into two sections. The
first reviews reforms and government policies within the higher education system of
Azerbaijan. The second section discusses the current trends in the higher education
market and system of Azerbaijan.

Key Words: Azerbaijan; Higher Education System; Higher Education Reforms;
Higher Education Trends; Higher Education Policies.
Jel classification: I22, I23, I25

INTRODUCTION

The higher education system in Azerbaijan has gone through tremendous changes
during the last three decades. Since regaining its independence from the USSR,
Azerbaijan had to abolish the Soviet approach to its higher education system and
establish a new institutional system and legal framework in order to address the
needs and demands of the country for human capital during the transition period
from a planned economy to a free market economy. This transition period was
realised amid multiple challenges. Some of these challenges are very like those
encountered in other former Soviet republics. These challenges and issues can be

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