News & Events in Belarus

Lukashenko discusses readiness of education system for new academic year

MINSK, 18 August (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko hosted a meeting on 18 August to discuss the state of readiness of the education system for the new academic year, BelTA has learned.

“As you know, the new academic year is starting soon. Summer holidays are coming to an end. The admission process was held in a new format this year. In line with examination results, our young people were enrolled in Belarusian universities and colleges,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

About 170,000 students of vocational schools, as well as 238,500 students of higher education institutions will start their studies in September.

“The figure is impressive. In fact, today the country has entered the last stage of preparations for the new academic year. Back-to-school fairs are running, educational institutions are receiving certificates of readiness and are getting equipped with vehicles for transporting students, dormitories and sports grounds are being refurbished, financial aid is being provided to large and low-income families. At least that’s how it should be. Today we will see if this is really the case. We want our children to have everything they need for studies and we want them to celebrate the Day of Knowledge in a good mood,” the president stressed.

At the same time, the head of state noted that despite the high readiness of educational institutions for the new academic year, some problems remain unresolved. For example, the State Control Committee reported on problems with transportation of students to educational institutions. Aleksandr Lukashenko asked Education Minister Andrei Ivanets how this issue is being resolved in the regions and in Minsk taking into account the president’s instructions.

“I also want to know how things are with meals and children’s safety in kindergartens and schools. Are respective instructions being fulfilled? I pay special attention to food. This is very important. It is not okay to have a pig farm near every school in order to feed food waste to pigs. This is not ethical to throw away food, although it has become a trend recently. In general, can we say with certainty that every child will be provided with everything necessary for school, especially if this child is raised by a large or low-income family?” asked the Belarusian leader.

Separately, Aleksandr Lukashenko discussed transportation of students to educational institutions. He drew attention to the uneven distribution of students throughout schools in Minsk: schools in the new neighborhoods are overcrowded, while schools located in the city center are severely under-enrolled. “If we transport children from Minsk District to Minsk, we should not bring them to the closest school, but to the school that operates below capacity,” the president said.

The head of state urged to come to grips with this issue and take a balanced approach to school construction taking into account the capacity of other educational institutions, especially in large cities. “It’s better to use this money to pay salaries, rather then waste it on uneven enrollment,” he demanded.

The head of state said that he was briefed on the ongoing university admission campaign, adding that it was proceeding in a constructive manner. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko is to present a detailed report on the preliminary results of the admission campaign.

“What went well and what went wrong? Maybe you have already developed a vision of how we will further improve the university admission system? As we agreed, this year we should finally make admission rules straightforward and clear. I want to hear how this year’s new-format admission campaign went for employer-sponsored university applicants. How have employer-sponsored university applicants performed during the admission campaign this year?” the president asked.

At the same time, the president asked the meeting participants to focus primarily on pending issues.

According to Education Minister Andrei Ivanets, at present all educational institutions are busy getting ready for the new academic year.

Measures are taken to provide children with places in preschool educational institutions and schools. There are indeed such problems in some neighborhoods, especially in Minsk District. Children living there are enrolled in kindergartens and schools located in the city of Minsk.

This year, for the first time, an interactive map showing available places in kindergartens was launched. It is posted on the websites of the Education Ministry, the main education departments of the regional authorities. Information is updated monthly. “This allows children’s legal representatives to see where kindergarten places are available without having to apply for this information to local authorities,” the minister explained.

Andrei Ivanets informed that this year a number of kindergartens and schools were closed or reorganized. This work is under close supervision of the Education Ministry. “We pay attention not only to the level of enrollment in schools. We are fully aware that schools are often centers of gravity, especially in rural areas. Therefore, if we shut down a school in a rural settlement, this place will no longer have a future,” he said.

On the other hand, new facilities are being built where necessary. This year, there are plans to build 15 kindergartens for more than 3,000 kids throughout the country, as well as two schools. One of them will be built in Minsk District, namely in the agricultural town of Senitsa, and the other one in Grodno, in a new neighborhood.

Upon the president’s instruction, the Education Ministry conducted a complete revision of textbooks. In recent years, a series of new textbooks for general secondary education schools have been published, and five textbooks had to be updated. Two such textbooks have already been republished this year.

Andrei Ivanets also mentioned the joint work with the Prosecutor General’s Office. By the beginning of the academic year, three publications on the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War were prepared for elementary school, middle school and high school students.

The ministry joined efforts with the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade and the Bellegprom concern to make sure a broad assortment of schoolwear is available in retail outlets well ahead of the new academic year.

Particular attention is paid to staffing matters. This year, 5,500 university and college graduates have been assigned their first jobs. “We are taking all necessary measures to ensure that the education system is fully staffed,” the minister assured.

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