Higher education: investing in the future or a waste of time?

In Azerbaijan, the entrance examinations are in full swing. The second round of test examinations for entrants of the 2nd and 3rd groups of specialties is carried out. The next exams for 1st and 4th groups of specialties will be held on July 22, after which the process of choosing specialties will begin. Applicants will compete for 42,806 planned places allocated in universities.

According to the Ministry of Education, in 2016/2017 academic year there were more than 145 thousand students receiving higher education in 42 public and private universities. Apart from them, 26 colleges and lyceums operate in the country today, in which about 55,000 boys and girls study and receive a profession. Annually about 40.000 young people graduate from higher schools. But do we need these graduates? In the pre-crisis years on the domestic labor market, there was an overabundance of lawyers, economists and financiers - it was these professions that at one time ranked first in popularity among applicants. Today in the top logistics, management and computer technology, as well as social sciences.

However, the popularity of a profession among students does not mean that it is in demand on the labor market. On the contrary, the demand for labor says that the country needs not so much white collars with prestigious crusts as people who know how to work with hands - cooks and confectioners, mechanics, electricians and other skilled workers. As a result, bachelors and masters are in a less advantageous situation than graduates of colleges who have received a specialty and passed the practice. And to get a job, for example, a waitress, today you need to have work experience, and not a diploma in the management of the restaurant business. What kind of professions are needed by the state? Judging by the policy pursued by our government, none. Transferring universities into the status of a legal entity of public law, which means self-financing of the institution, the government gives us to understand that the state shifts the financing of higher schools to the people's shoulders. Judging by the latest events, he does not need a teacher, a doctor, or an engineer. Aygun Sultanova, after receiving a Bachelor's degree in Philology, was looking for a job in her specialty for a long time. Attempts will be arranged in the school though laboratory assistant have not crowned success. Today she works as a saleswoman in a cosmetic shop.

Her classmates also found themselves in a similar situation. They found employment in acquaintance who is in the bank, who is in the hotel. As the chairman of the Center for Sustainable Development Studies Nariman Agayev said Turan, labor market research has shown that almost 60% of university graduates do not work in their specialty. This applies not only to humanities specialists, but also to technical ones. The economic situation in the country has changed, the wage system has changed - salaries of representatives of various professions differ greatly. The main thing is that today universities are not looking for work and employment for their graduates. Therefore, young professionals are engaged in independent search for work. In conditions of unemployment, applicants agree to any, even unskilled work. Etibar Aliyev is well aware of the problems of young specialists. "The demand for this or that profession varies from year to year, so it is difficult to predict which specialists will be in demand in 4-5 years, when students entering the university will finish it. Therefore, we believe that the country's leadership should instruct any of the scientific institutions to forecast the development of various sectors of the economy and find out what specialists will be needed in the future so that the state can make the universities order for their training. Today, budget places in state educational institutions are divided in the old fashion, without taking into account the real needs of the country. Last years in high schools places on technical and economic specialties increase. Do our economy need these specialties? In what direction will the economy develop - agrarian, construction? Will these engineers and managers be in demand? The government does not have a clear strategy for action in this area," the expert said.