Turkic (Azerbaijani) was one of the first subjects taught at Baku State University (BSU). When BSU was founded in 1919, the studies were provided in Russian. Azerbaijan’s official language Turkic (Azerbaijani) was therefore taught at all faculties (it had previously had two faculties: History and Medicine). It was due to the fact that its alumni were supposed to be for the sake of the bulk of the country's population - Azerbaijanis. Later, when the University opened the Turkish (Azerbaijani) and Russian sectors, respectively, Russian language was taught in the Azerbaijani sector and Turkic (Azerbaijani) language in the Russian sector. In its initial years, Turkic (Azerbaijani) language was taught over the course of ten semesters. The Azerbaijani writer and playwright Abdurrahim Bey Hagverdiyev as well as the active-minded persons of that time Gedim Bey Shakhtakhtinski and Gulamrza Gasymbeyli were involved in teaching Azerbaijani over the years.
In 1930, Medical Institute was founded to run independently and it set up a separate Department of Languages where Azerbaijani language teachers played a significant role. And the fact that Gedim Bey Shakhtakhtinski, an Azerbaijani language teacher, was appointed to chair the Department was the result of respecting our mother tongue.
In 1932, Assistant Professor Qulamrza Jafaroghlu Gasymbeyli was appointed head of the Department, who had occupied the post until 1937, succeeded the same year by A. Zeynally and in 1938 by B. Aghayev. Teachers were designated by the Department for each of the languages, starting in 1939.
There was a significant decrease in the number of hours devoted to the teaching of Azerbaijani from the 1937/1938 academic year; they started to teach Azerbaijani throughout four semesters as against ten in the previous years. In the 1943/1944 academic year, a separate Department of Azerbaijani Language was set up and Gulamrza Gasymbeyli was appointed as head of this Department. He stayed at his post until 1946. Starting on September 1,1946, the Department of Azerbaijani and Russian Languages (the two languages were taught from the year) was chaired by Nurmammad Shahsuvarov who had graduated from Transcaucasian Teachers Seminary in Gori and then Tiflis Pedagogical Institute. After his death, Hasan Atakishiyev was appointed to the post in 1958, replaced by Mammad Gasymov, Candidate of Philological Sciences and Associate Professor between 1964 and 1968 (who later obtained the degree of Doctor of Philological Sciences at the professor level, being promoted to decision-making posts in the Republican Terminology Committee).
This position later was taken by SayyaraMammadgiziFarhadova (Mollazade), (January 1969), a young philologist and candidate in philological sciences. In that capacity, SayyaraMollazadewas promoted to the rank of Doctor of Sciences and Professor from the rank of Associate Professor.Born at Ilisu, a village in the district of Gakh, in 1933, Mollazade studied Philology at Baku State University (1954) and was a postgraduate student at Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute (now Azerbaijan Pedagogical University) in the 1960s. She was appointed to work as a teacher with the Azerbaijani Language Department at Azerbaijan Medical Institute (now Azerbaijan Medical University) in 1965, successfully defending in 1966 her candidate dissertation and in 1979 doctor's dissertation.Her studies on dialectology and toponymy had highlighted not only Azerbaijan’s accomplishments but also those in linguistics throughout the former USSR. She is the first Azerbaijani woman that holds a doctorate in toponymics, requiring heavy intellectual and physical work. She published five monographs as well as more than 100 scientific articles on linguistics and various issues of teaching. She was one of our scholars who could balance scientific work with education on an equal basis. The years when SayyaraKhanum chaired the Department may be called the period of real progress and development for it (24 years of which coincide with the Post-Soviet period). Mollazade left the post on her own accord in September 2012. She died in 2015. Staff members of the Department with love and great professionalism taught Azerbaijani language and literature (from the 70s to 1992 of the last century, more than 200 academic preparatory classes students were provided with sessions in the Azerbaijani sector of the Medical University Preparatory Department, where they were taught our language and literature on the basis of secondary schools programs) and tried to improve their scientific and theoretical knowledge. As a result, staff members of the Azerbaijani and Russian Languages Department also included two candidates in Azerbaijani language and one in Russian language by the late 1960s, with two doctors and 11 candidates in 1984 (before it split into two departments).
Out of 27 teachers currently working with the Azerbaijani Language Department, 16 are holders of PhDs in Philology, 12 associate professors and 3 senior teachers. Akif Farman oghluMiriyev, a Ph.D and Associate Professor, has been chairing the Department since 2008. Two staff members arecompleting their doctorates now, plus three are working on the thesis for the Candidate's Degree. Truly, our Department fails to develop a planned scientific theme, but most of the teachers are conducting research on a certain field, through preparing and publishing articles and teaching materials on valuable teaching methodologies and preparing methodical works.
Like the rest of the non-humanities faculties in the country, the subject of Azerbaijani Language and Elocution is also taught (60 hours a year) at our Department, starting in the 2014-2015 academic year. So, the Department has the following streams of education:
2) Azerbaijani Language – in the Russian sector;
3) Azerbaijani Language – in the English sector;
4) Azerbaijani Language – in the preparatory section.
About 100 groups from the Azerbaijani, Russian and English sectors as well as 15-20 groups from the preparatory section (in the Azerbaijani sector) are provided with sessions by this Department each academic year. For example, according to the Chair’s plan of action, 102 first-year students and 23 academic preparatory classes students are to be provided with sessions this year. The total yearly workload for sessions provided by the Department exceeds 19000 hours.
Our Department is always seeking ways to comprehensively enhance the quality of education and promote the spiritual and moral values often very important to the students enrolled at our University or training courses.