The Republic of Azerbaijan employs a multi-level and diverse arts and cultural education and training system designed to train professionals and introduce cultural values to virtually all pupils and students. The system offers three-level special training, encompassing out-of-school arts and cultural education, vocational and professional training, and higher arts education. At the same time, compulsory secondary education includes curricula related to arts and culture. This approach is justified by society’s need for professional cultural and artistic figures and a prepared audience capable of appreciating national and world cultural and artistic masterpieces and, more broadly, a culturally educated young generation.
The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Science and Education are the central government bodies responsible for arts and cultural education and training in the Republic of Azerbaijan; all public arts and cultural education and training institutions are divided between these two ministries. Such a division requires serious coordination of efforts between these government bodies to fulfil the social order in cultural and arts education.
Thus, the Ministry of Culture implements the state cultural policy for the out-of-school arts and cultural education sphere and supervises children’s music, art, painting, mugham, and ashig schools and centres, which offer primary and secondary out-of-school education to children, adolescents, and young people. In addition, the Baku Choreography Academy is also part of the Ministry of Culture’s system and offers general, secondary specialised, and higher education programs in choreography.
The Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the central executive body responsible for developing and implementing the state education policy, ensuring state control over education and its quality. The Ministry of Science and Education oversees arts and cultural education in secondary schools by implementing curricula in music, fine arts, literature, and life knowledge. Vocational and professional education in culture and the arts at secondary specialised educational institutions (colleges) are also under the oversight of the Ministry of Science and Education. Along with this, the Ministry of Science and Education supervises most higher arts and cultural education institutions, as well as higher education institutions that offer partial teaching of individual cultural specialisations.
Concerning the last structural reforms in the sphere of education, it is necessary to mention that according to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan On some measures to improve the management in the field of science and education in the Republic of Azerbaijan (No.1769 of July 28, 2022), the Ministry of Education was renamed to Ministry of Science and Education, to strengthen the science and education interaction and to improve management in these fields, and the State Agency for Science and Higher Education and the State Agency for Preschool and General Education were established under the Ministry of Science and Education.
The Children’s Art Festival (https://uif.az/), jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Science and Education, and the Heydar Aliyev Centre, is a notable initiative that showcases emerging talents, nurtures children’s creative potential, and creates broader opportunities in the arts. The biennial festival has attracted significant interest since its inaugural edition in 2023, during which up to 27,000 children applied. From these applications, 408 winners were selected and recognised at the festival, which featured 22 nominations (18 individual and four collective) across three age groups: 6-9 years, 10-13 years, and 14-17 years.
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