The presence of more male teachers in Azerbaijani schools has a positive impact on students’ upbringing and discipline, according to former Education Minister Firudin Jalilov. His remarks, made to Bizim.Media, came in response to recent comments by Milli Majlis MP Jeyhun Mammadov, who argued that offering scholarships to attract men into teaching was unnecessary — a statement that has sparked public debate.
Jalilov disagreed, stressing that increasing the number of male teachers in general education schools is important and that scholarships could be an effective tool to achieve this.
“The more men working in schools, the more well-behaved and disciplined the students become. Many well-known psychologists and educators have reached this conclusion,” he said.
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However, the former minister emphasized that in universities, gender should not be a factor in selecting faculty. “In higher education, it does not matter whether the lecturer is male or female. What matters are their abilities, knowledge, and qualifications,” he noted.
Jalilov welcomed the idea of offering scholarships to students pursuing teaching degrees, calling it “a very good initiative” that could motivate young people to choose the teaching profession.
