Until the 30s of the 19th century, there were no other public educational institutions in Azerbaijan, except for private privileged schools. In 1827, Basel missionaries opened a school in Shusha, where the German language was predominantly taught. In the 19th century, according to the "Gulistan" (1813) and "Turkmenchay" (1828) treaties, Azerbaijan was divided into two parts: Northern and Western Azerbaijan became part of Russia, and Southern Azerbaijan became part of Iran. The policy of Russification of tsarism in Azerbaijan has been particularly pronounced in the field of education. By appointing Mullahs and Effendi as officials in the departments, they turned them into their allies, and by teaching Azerbaijani children in Russian schools, they intended to educate pro-Russian generations from them. In accordance with the “Regulations on Transcaucasian schools”, approved by Tsarist Russia in 1829, in order to spread the Russian language among the population and to ensure primary education, district schools were opened in Shusha (1830), Nukha (Sheki) (1831), Baku (1832), Ganja (February 8; 1833), Shemakha (1838) and Nakhchivan (1838).

One of the educational institutions that emerged during these years and occupy an important place in the history of schools in Azerbaijan is the Ganja Сounty School, founded on February 8, 1833. According to the charter of schools of the South Caucasus in 1829, the first state schools, the so-called “country schools”, were founded in Azerbaijan. In general, the history of the public education system in Azerbaijan began with this charter, since until that time there was neither a public education charter, nor a general public education system, nor a specific budget, nor a corresponding body in Azerbaijan. The school curriculum included: Sharia, recitation, penmanship, the first four arithmetic operations, Russian and Azerbaijani languages.  The school was equal in status to the corresponding educational institutions in Russia, initially only 38 students studied at the Ganja County School. The national composition of the students was diverse. Along with Azerbaijanis, Russians and children of other nationalities also received education here. The local population favored the school and helped it financially.

After the approval of the new charter of Transcaucasian schools in 1835, the Ganja Сounty School became a three-grade school. Azerbaijani and Russian languages, Sharia, arithmetic, calligraphy, history, literature, geography and geometry were taught here.

Ganja County School was the first educational institution built and commissioned by the state in Azerbaijan. In 1836, it was decided to build a special building for the Ganja County School in the city center at the expense of the state treasury. The school building was opened on August 20, 1840.

In 1843 there were 95 students at the school, and in 1844 there were 109. In terms of the total number of students, Ganja County School was ahead of Nakhchivan, Shusha, Baku, Nukha and Shamakhi county schools. In 1869, the total number of graduates from 13 county schools, all over Transcaucasia, was 44 people, 18 of whom were graduates of the Ganja County School. In 1843 there were 95 students at the school, and in 1844 there were 109. In terms of the total number of students, Ganja County School was ahead of Nakhchivan, Shusha, Baku, Nukha and Shamakhi county schools. In 1869, the total number of graduates from 13 county schools, all over Transcaucasia, was 44 people, 18 of whom were graduates of the Ganja county School.

In the middle of the XIX century, the school's curriculum was slightly changed, new subjects were added to the plan. Some professions of practical importance have also been taught in schools, including accounting, litigation, and record keeping. The staff and funds of the school have also increased.

Since the 50s of the 19th century, the patriotic people's intelligentsia, seeing the path to the salvation of the people in education, tried to do everything possible to rid them of ignorance, religious fanaticism, and mass illiteracy. Among the teachers of the Ganja Country School, who belonged to the clergy, Mirza Shafi Vazekh especially stood out. He worked here from November 1846 to January 1850 and left a rich legacy. One of his greatest contributions to Azerbaijani education was the textbooks “Kitabi-Turki”, “Muntahabat-Turki” and “Azerbaijani dialect Muntakabat”, compiled together with the teacher of the Tbilisi gymnasium Ivan Grigoriev, a student of the famous orientalist Mirza Kazim. This collection by Mirza Shafi became the first textbook in the Azerbaijani language.

The emergence of the Ganja province in the 70s of the 19th century and the transformation of Ganja into a provincial center led to the appearance of the first group intellectuals of a new type here. The emergence of the Ganja province in the 70s of the XIX century, and the transformation of Ganja into a provincial center led to the emergence of the first group of intellectuals of a new type here. By a special charter dated May 31, 1872, the county schools were transformed into schools of a new type - city schools. According to the charter, city schools could consist of one, two, three and four classes. Depending on the degree, the duration of study in individual classes was different. The curriculum of urban schools included teaching Sharia, reading, writing, Russian, arithmetic, experimental geometry, geography, history, natural science, physics, drawing, French, music, and organizing agricultural and art departments.

With the conversion of Ganja into a provincial center, the Ganja County School was transformed into the Ganja Classical Gymnasium on June 1, 1870. Ganja County School has been functioning for 38 years.

Recommended literature:

1. Əsgərov, Şahlar Qaçay oğlu. Təhsilimiz dünən, bu gün, sabah / Ş. Q. Əsgərov ; red. S. Ağababayeva. - Bakı : Azərbaycan nəşriyyatı, 2003. - 280 s. ;
2. Mərdanov, Misir Cumayıl oğlu. Azərbaycan təhsil tarixi / M. C. Mərdanov ; elmi red. F. A. Rüstəmov. I cild / elmi red. F. A. Rüstəmov. - Bakı : Təhsil, 2011. - 296 s.
3. Tahirzadə, Nərmin Abdulla qızı. Azərbaycan təhsil tarixi oçerkləri və ilk ali təhsillilərimiz / N. A. Tahirzadə ; rus dilindən tərc.: Ə. Tahirzadə, O. Tahirli ; layihənin rəh. M. Mərdanov ; elmi red. Ə. Tahirzadə. - Bakı : Nurlar NPM, 2015. - 480 s.