Teacher assignment in rural regions of Azerbaijan

Large number of unfilled teaching positions in rural regions is a common problem in most of the countries, including Azerbaijan. In this paper, we try to identify factors affecting preferences of teachers on workplace and thus, the reasons for not choosing schools in rural areas and propose an incentive mechanism to reduce number of unfilled vacancies in these regions of Azerbaijan. To understand the factors affecting student preferences, wesurveyed around 2000 junior students majoring in various education programs in different universities. Based on the survey results, we identify the factors affecting the decisions of the prospective teachers and the barriersthat keep them away from choosing schools in rural areas. Based on our findings, we propose an incentive mechanism to fulfil the vacancies in rural area schools.