For the first time in more than three decades (37 years), the traditional “Last Bell” ceremony was held Friday at Secondary School No. 4 named after Nizami Ganjavi in Azerbaijan's Khankendi city, the Public Relations Department of the Restoration, Construction and Management Service (RCMS) for Khankendi, Aghdara and Khojaly districts told Trend.

The event not only honored this year’s graduates but also offered a long-overdue farewell ceremony to students who were set to graduate in 1988 — a celebration postponed indefinitely by conflict.

The gathering drew a wide range of participants, including Sabuhi Gahramanov, the deputy special representative of the president of Azerbaijan for Khankendi, Aghdara and Khojaly, officials from the Ministry of Science and Education, school faculty, students, parents, families of fallen soldiers, and war veterans.

The ceremony opened with the Azerbaijani national anthem and a moment of silence in remembrance of those who died defending the country’s territorial integrity.

Speaking at the event, Gahramanov praised the country’s investment in education under President Ilham Aliyev, crediting it with fostering “an informed, patriotic generation with strong ties to the state.”

He also noted that today, Azerbaijan is raising a generation that is knowledgeable, active and rooted in national identity. Every opportunity is being created for young people to study at leading global universities, especially in fields critical to our national priorities.

The ceremony continued with student performances combining music, poetry, and traditional art, in a celebration that signaled both resilience and renewal in a city once at the center of armed conflict.

School officials said that 14 students graduated this year from Secondary School No. 4, the first full graduating class in Khankendi in over a generation.