Baku, September 16, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the inauguration of the 960-seat new educational complex of the secondary school No300 in Binagadi district, Baku.

School principal Irada Khalilova informed the head of state of the work done.

The school building was constructed in 1932. Together with the newly-built educational complex, the school currently enrolls 1944 students who are served by 138 teachers.

President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva viewed conditions created in the gym, military room, eco-class, computer room, chemistry laboratory, various other classrooms, and the canteen in the new educational complex, talked to the teachers and students and wished them success in the new school year.

After viewing the conditions created at the school, President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva met with teachers and parents and congratulated them.

Grandmother of first-grade student Farida Huseynova: Our dear President, dear Mrs. Aliyeva, we are very glad to see you here. My grandson has been admitted to the first grade of this school. On my own behalf and on behalf of all other parents, I want to thank you for creating such wonderful conditions for our children. May Allah grant you good health and a long life.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. I am also very pleased that children are starting a new school year in a new school. This is also a workplace for teachers. Parents, children and teachers are satisfied. Our main goal is to make our people happy, improve the standard of living of the people, so that our children could study in beautiful schools.

Tremendous work on building schools has been done in recent years. Suffice it to say that more than 3,200 schools have been built or refurbished in the city of Baku and all our regions in recent years. This year, more than 80 schools will be rebuilt, while those that have not been renovated yet will definitely be renovated in the coming years.

This school looks pleasing to the eye. All the necessary conditions have been created and the school is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment. As I was informed, the previous condition of the school was deplorable. In other words, there were great difficulties for teachers too. Children studied in an unrepaired school, in unsuitable conditions. And now these conditions have been created. However, this is only a part of the job. Of course, the main question is that, along with excellent conditions, there should also be a high level of education, so that the children studying here are able to secure a decent place in their future lives. Therefore, improving the level of education today is one of the important issues on the agenda, and there are results in this direction.

I should also mention that the number of those choosing the profession of a teacher in recent years has grown. Teachers have always enjoyed great respect in Azerbaijan. There has always been a lot of respect for the profession of a teacher. Today it is at an even higher level. Raising teachers' salaries, improving their working conditions leads to the fact that the number of people interested in becoming a teacher has increased significantly compared to previous years. Once again, I congratulate the children, parents and teachers on the construction of the new school.

Chemistry teacher Yagut Monsumova: Dear Mr. President, allow me to convey our appreciation to you on behalf of our team. To be honest, it is hard to find the right words to convey our gratitude. Mr. President, you are building and repairing schools. This is your attitude towards education. This is your attitude towards the state. This new school building built on your instruction is the best possible present for us on the Day of Knowledge. We always feel your support. The commissioning of such a beautiful and magnificent school pleases us teachers very much and encourages us to work even harder, further increases our responsibility. I saw the chemistry lab and classrooms of our school. To be honest, we had only seen such laboratories and classrooms in the movies before. Now this is a reality in Azerbaijan.

We know that there are a lot of conflicts and problems in the world. Thanks to you, Azerbaijan is a stable and quiet place. This is the result of your far-sighted policy. Our dear Mehriban Aliyeva has also contributed immensely to these achievements. Dear Mrs. Aliyeva, we love you infinitely, no words are good enough to convey our love. Thank you once again for spending your precious time to come and meet us.

Mr. President, on behalf of our team let me express our gratitude to you for this wonderful school and for all the work you are doing. May Allah protect you, our dear Mehriban Aliyeva, your entire family.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. Thank you for your kind words. Once again, I wish you success and congratulate you. I am sure that in the future, the children studying here will occupy a worthy place in life and do great things for our state, our people, and contribute to our overall development.