Mass exam failure raises alarm over teacher preparedness, training standards, and the future quality of education for the country’s students.
BAKU, Aug 12 — More than 2,000 teachers in Azerbaijan have failed to achieve the minimum passing score in the latest certification exams, exposing deeper concerns about teacher training, support systems, and the overall readiness of the country’s education sector.
According to the State Agency for Preschool and General Education (SAPGE), 2,343 teachers failed the 2025 certification process. While the agency stresses that special commissions have been established to assess the social and employment situations of those affected, the scale of the failure is prompting debate over whether systemic shortcomings are to blame.
Local education management bodies are holding individual meetings with unsuccessful candidates to determine their level of social vulnerability and prioritize them for alternative employment. Authorities say 872 teachers have applied for such support so far, with placement formalities now underway for the most at-risk individuals.
Critics, however, argue that the issue goes beyond post-exam assistance. Education analysts question whether current professional development programs, access to resources, and working conditions are adequate to prepare teachers for the standards demanded by the certification process.
Some education experts argue, that “When thousands of educators fail in one sitting, this isn’t just about individual performance — it’s a signal that something in the system needs urgent attention.”
The certification process, aimed at improving teaching quality, is meant to be a benchmark for competence in the classroom. But for many, the results have sparked a more uncomfortable question: if teachers are unprepared, what does that mean for the students they teach?
