Azerbaijani student gains right to free education

The Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan has sustained Azerbaijani Medical University Student Cavidan Qafarov’s claim and ruled out to exempt orphan students from payment of tuition fee.

The supreme judicial body found controversies in two different laws and settled a dispute in favor of the student. Until now, only the orphan adolescents under 18 have been exempt from tuition fee. Whereas now, this allowance will apply to the older age students studying at full-time faculties of the state-run higher education institutions.

As Cavidan Qafarov told the Qafqazinfo news agency, similar legal actions had been initiated before as well, but his case turned out to be the first that was considered and delivered a positive judgment. The student thanked his lawyer, Turgay Hasanov, who supported his claim and pushed the matter through. “I call on each and every students to come to know their rights and consistently seek their observance,” said Qafarov.

According to Karman Asadov, an expert in education issues, there are 389 orphan students who study on a fee-paying basis in Azerbaijan. About 5-10 students give up on studies annually, because they can’t afford paying a tuition fee.

Zahid Oruc, Milli Majlis (Parliament) member, said that the Parliament would take into consideration the Constitutional Court’s ruling. As he added, a procedure of introduction of legal amendments usually takes up to 6 months.