"Quality of Education Declines While Tuition Fees Rise"

This year, annual tuition fees have increased at some higher education institutions in Azerbaijan. One student who chose mathematics at Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University told Radio Azadliq that the annual tuition fee for this program has risen by 300 manat.

Students, who wished to remain anonymous, emphasized that the reason for this increase is not justified: "The rise in tuition fees is not acceptable to us. If they have raised the fees this year, they could do it again next year. Who guarantees that they won’t increase it further?! If that happens, we won’t be able to afford the fees, and our education will remain incomplete."

According to the State Examination Center (DIM), in 2023, 8,631 people were expelled from higher and secondary educational institutions in Azerbaijan for not paying tuition, missing classes, or leaving voluntarily.

The State Agency for Science and Higher Education reported that the number of students expelled from state higher education institutions at the undergraduate level this year is 582.

Official data shows that for the 2024/2025 academic year, the number of planned spots has been increased by 5 percent. This will allow around 60,000 new students to begin university studies, with about 32,000 of them attending on a fee-paying basis.

Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University confirmed the increase in tuition fees to Turan. According to the university's press service, the tuition fee for all programs has been raised: "Until the 2024/2025 academic year, the tuition fee for all programs was 2,000 manat, but starting this year, it will be 2,300 manat."

The university stated that this increase only applies to new students admitted this year and will not affect students in higher years. However, the institution did not explain the reasons for the fee increase.

According to Azerbaijan State Economic University, the university offers 23 programs, and only one of them will see an increase in tuition fees.

Azerbaijan University of Languages (ADA) mentioned that there will be partial changes in tuition fees for some programs: "There will be partial tuition fee changes for certain programs at the undergraduate and master's levels. For example, programs in 'Teaching English,' Arabic, Korean, translation, 'Foreign Language Teaching' (German, French, Spanish), and 'Social-Psychological Services in Education' will see changes."

It was emphasized that the decision for partial fee changes was made after a comparative analysis with other private and state universities: "It is still lower compared to other higher education institutions. For instance, at ADU, the tuition for master's programs in 'German Language Teaching Methodology and Methodology,' 'French Language Teaching Methodology and Methodology,' 'Social-Psychological Services in Education,' 'Theory and History of Pedagogy,' and 'Social Pedagogy' is 1,000 manat per year. Even in colleges, the tuition fees are higher."

Education expert Nabatali Gulamoglu told Radio  Azadliq that the increase in tuition fees is understandable to some extent: "Everything has become more expensive, and the government's statistical data does not match reality. They say inflation is minimal, but that is not the case. I suspect that universities are facing certain problems because of this."

However, the expert believes that this increase creates additional problems for students: "How they will pay this is another issue, as inflation affects the students' parents too. If parents are also experiencing this, universities should have reached a compromise with them. A slight increase in tuition fees could have been manageable. I disagree with the current increase."

According to him, tuition fees should only increase if the quality of education also improves: "If the quality of education rises parallel to the tuition fee increase, I would agree with that. But here, the quality of education is declining while the fees are rising."

Some experts suggest creating funds within universities as a solution.