Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University to Meet Students Experiencing Financial Difficulties

"We thank the Turan News Agency for the article published on November 24, 2017, entitled "No Money, Do not Learn!", which raises the problems of students receiving paid education in higher educational institutions of the republic. At the same time, we consider it important to clarify some points related to ASOIU. Currently, in this university, up to 10,700 students study at the bachelor's and master's degrees. 38% of them study on a paid basis and 62% of the students are trained by state order, so the state pays for their education.

At ASOIU, the tuition fee varies between AZN 1,000 and AZN 1,500, depending on the specialty at the correspondence school, and 1,200-1,900 manat on the full-time basis. With each of the students studying on a fee basis, the University concludes a contract. According to the terms of the agreement, in which the obligations and tasks of both parties are defined, an acceptable payment schedule is drawn up for students studying on a fee basis. Students must pay for the first half of the year before October 1, and for the second half before March 1.

There are 467 students from the families of martyrs, internally displaced persons, as well as those who lost their parents, who are being trained at ASOIU for a fee, but their education is paid by the state.

Currently, only 8-10% of students on a paid basis have not paid for their studies. As for the payment for the second half of the 2017/2018 academic year, only 1% of the students have made the payment.

All the material written in the article that students who have not paid their tuition are not admitted to classes, ostensibly removed from the audience and cannot meet with the Rector is not true.

Students who cannot pay for tuition are invited to apply to the rector to receive a postponement, and the students' desire is ensured by 100%. Based on last year's experience, we can note that students who received a postponement were even admitted to examinations for the first half of the year. In some cases, payment for the first semester was made during the second half of the year. ASOIU will continue this tradition in the academic year 2017/2018 and is ready to approach each student in a personal way, with understanding to treat their situation and take their appeals into account.

However, in some cases, students shy away from writing a statement addressed to the Rector for granting them a postponement. They explain this with the fact that they find it difficult to answer when they can pay for their education. The management of the university in this case again calls upon them to write an application to the Rector on granting a postponement for the payment of tuition.

As for the difficulty of getting to the Rector"s reception, the reception hours at the Rector are every Tuesday at 4 pm, and any person, be it a student, a teacher, or a common citizen can take part in a meeting with the Rector and address him with problems of concern to him.

In addition, once a month in the assembly hall of the university an "open microphone" event is held, during which students and their parents address questions to the Rector. Representatives of the media can also apply to participate in the "open microphone" event. The next time this event will be held on December 9 in the assembly hall of the main building of the university.

ASOIU is one of the oldest universities in Azerbaijan and every student for it is a son of the Azerbaijani nation. ASOIU gives in-depth knowledge to grow worthy citizens and professional specialists for the nation and the state in the future and considers this to be the main mission. However, as in any field, it is necessary to pay for the education provided. Taking into account the desires and opportunities of the students of ASOIU, conditions are created for tuition fees in stages. It should be noted that regardless of the form of training - state order or paid basis - the Azerbaijani state applies a fair mechanism for obtaining student scholarships. There are hundreds of students in ASOIU who study on a fee basis and receive a scholarship for achievements in training.

Once again I would like to emphasize that if a student has problems with paying for tuition, then it is necessary to apply with a statement addressed to the Rector. These kinds of appeals create conditions for students to maximize the solution of the issue in their favor."