Education Institute Reverses and Refines Lyceum Admissions Policy After Public

After a week of controversy and protests, the Education Institute has dramatically revised its admissions policy for lyceums and gymnasiums, first broadening its scope and then specifying exceptional grade levels for the coming school year.

May 26: Initial RestrictionThe Institute’s May 26 announcement limited centralized entrance exams—and thus admissions—to only current 6th-grade students seeking entry into the 7th grade. Registration was set to run from June 5 to June 20. Previously, state lyceums and gymnasiums admitted pupils from 4th through 8th grades.

May 27: Parental Protests and First ResponseNews of the sudden change reverberated across the country. In Ganja, a group of parents gathered outside the Physics-Mathematics-Informatics Lyceum on May 27, decrying the policy as unfair to their 4th- and 5th-grade children who had been preparing for months.

“My child is in the 5th grade and has spent a year in costly private prep classes. Now, ten days before registration, we’re told 5th graders can’t apply. If this was decided last September, they should’ve said so then,” protested Nigar Hajiyeva.

On the same day, the Institute defended its stance, arguing that focusing on 6th graders would ensure a higher, more uniform level of academic and psychological readiness:

“International experience shows that aptitude-based selections yield fairer, more effective outcomes when administered after students have built foundational knowledge,” the Institute stated.

May 28: Expert and Parliamentary CriticismEducational expert Kamran Asadov lambasted the decision on Demokrat.az, calling an unannounced, immediate policy change both “fundamentally and ethically unacceptable” and warning that it “disrupts thousands of families’ plans, harms children’s psychological well-being, and erodes trust in government.”

“Any change to centralized admissions must be presented publicly, formalized legally, and announced at least one academic year in advance,” Asadov stressed, citing Article 5 of the Law on Education, which mandates transparent, predictable educational processes.

Member of Parliament Fazil Mustafa echoed these concerns, urging the Ministry of Science and Education to “explain its decisions clearly and in good time, lest public confidence in the education system suffer further erosion.”

May 29: Two Rounds of RevisionFacing mounting pressure, the Institute issued two updates on May 29:

1. Morning Statement: The entrance exams would, as in previous years, cover students in the 4th, 5th, and 7th grades as well as 6th graders—though the Institute reiterated that from the next academic year onward, only 6th-grade admission would continue.

2. Afternoon Clarification: In a further refinement, the Institute specified that for the 2025–2026 school year only, admissions would exceptionally include students in the 5th, 6th, and 8th grades. Full details on procedures for other grades were promised “in the coming days,” to accommodate the “strong public interest” in state lyceum and gymnasium education.

What This Means

• Families with Means vs. Low-Income Households: While affluent families can opt for fee-based private lyceums, many lower-income parents had invested heavily—financially and emotionally—in public entrance prep, only to be blindsided by abrupt rule changes.

• Psychological Impact: Parents and psychologists warn that last-minute policy shifts risk undermining students’ confidence and trust in the system.

• Governance and Transparency: Experts insist that education policy must adhere to clear legislative procedures, including advance notice and public consultation, to maintain credibility and predictability.

Looking AheadWith the Institute’s final clarification in place, families of 5th, 6th, and 8th graders may now proceed with exam registration when details are released. Meanwhile, education stakeholders continue to call for systemic reforms to ensure that future policy changes follow transparent, consultative processes—protecting both students’ academic prospects and the public’s trust in the education system.