Baku, September 23, AZERTAC

British Council and State Examination Centre of the Republic of Azerbaijan have signed a Letter of Intent on cooperation to

implement joint projects on evaluation of English knowledge and competence.

The document was signed by Maleyka Abbaszade, Chairman of State Examination Centre and Elizabeth White, British Council Azerbaijan Country Director. The sides agreed that the Letter of Intent would be developed by January 2017 into a more comprehensive Framework Agreement on Cooperation for the period 2017 to 2018.

Under the document the British Council will assist the State Examination Centre in advancing education reforms in Azerbaijan by supporting the further development of evaluation of English knowledge and competence, the British Council Azerbaijan said in a press release.

“One of its aims is to carry out research to identify conformity of state level exam results to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). CEFR was designed to provide a transparent, coherent and comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials and the assessment of foreign language proficiency.”

“Specifically, the agreement focuses on the shared objectives of: supporting the improvement of the English component in the Master's degree entrance examination; supporting the compliance of English components of school graduation examinations with the new curriculum; supporting the potential for IELTS exams being administered by the State Examination Centre; improving the assessment of foreign language skills during acceptance to state service positions.”

“The Agreement will furthermore promote systematic and qualitative reforms in the Azerbaijani education system, based on successful experiences from the United Kingdom and other European countries,” the press release said.

British Council Azerbaijan Director Elizabeth White said: "This is an important step. We are delighted to be working with the State Examination centre on the reforms they propose for the formal assessment of English language skills. A good examination can influence teaching and learning for the better; the proposed reforms will have far-reaching results".