Baku, July 18, 2025 — The principal of Secondary School No. 240 in Baku, Esmira Mammadova, has been dismissed from her position after a scandal erupted over her use of school staff for personal errands, including having janitorial employees wash her private vehicle on school grounds.
The State Agency for Preschool and General Education confirmed the dismissal following a wave of criticism on social media, where videos surfaced showing cleaning staff washing cars belonging to both Mammadova and her deputy, Arifa Mammadova, on the premises of the school. According to regulations, personal vehicles are not permitted inside educational institutions.
Reports also emerged of broader abuse of power within the school. Allegedly, Arifa Mammadova delegated her teaching duties to other staff members and assigned personal errands to school employees. Footage circulated online appears to support these claims.
Arifa Mammadova’s name has surfaced in past controversies as well. While working in Shamkir district, she was accused of collecting money—ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 manats—from six individuals in exchange for promises of employment at the school. She later left the region without fulfilling those promises and reportedly delayed returning the money.
Meanwhile, Esmira Mammadova has allegedly made troubling remarks in private, saying, “I paid and I’ll return in September. No matter what the press writes—everything has a price.”
In response to inquiries, the Baku Department of Education confirmed an internal investigation is underway. “Measures will be taken in accordance with the law against the principal for actions incompatible with the mission of the education system,” the department stated.
The scandal has sparked public outrage, reigniting calls for greater transparency and accountability in Azerbaijan’s public education sector.
However, the case also raises deeper concerns about the systemic lack of oversight in school administration. That such abuses—ranging from forced labor to bribery and unfulfilled employment promises—could go unchecked for so long reflects serious flaws in the education bureaucracy. Dismissing a single director may address the symptom, but the root problem lies in a culture where power is rarely questioned, and unethical behavior is too often tolerated.
