Report on university admissions process

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko received a report on the university admissions process on 30 May.

Attending the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Natalya Petkevich who heads the state commission in charge of university and college admissions in 2025, First Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Pertsov, Education Minister Andrei Ivanets and Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov. Each of them presented reports on the issues within their purview to the head of state.

“Regarding the purpose of our conversation. Details are important, therefore we will also discuss them. Yet, the most important thing is to send a signal to people that we are keeping tabs on the organization and conduct of university admissions tests and graduation exams at high schools and junior high schools. Especially university admissions. We know very well how important this is for a responsible family. We have been through this ourselves. It is very important to have a system that would convince the public of the integrity of the admissions process,” the head of state said.

“I have no doubt that it will be fair. Although it was not unfair,” the President added.

“It was not,” Vasily Gerasimov confirmed.

“Parents and applicants just need to know that everything will be fair. There is no need to resort to tricks. The only thing that you need to bring to the examination room is your knowledge. Knowledge plus good luck - and you are a student. And if some incident occurs, we, Natalya Vladimirovna, will think how to prevent this from happening again. And if something happens, we should not brush it off – we should have a look at those people who might approach us with a request to reassess their knowledge. We will almost certainly overlook some talent. But we should not. We should not do wrong to families and, most importantly, to young people who strive to live a normal life,” the head of state demanded.

Aleksandr Lukashenko asked how the centralized testing went and whether this form of testing is good enough. “If it is good, then in what way? Tell me frankly. If we have made a mistake, we should correct it. In no case should we paper it over, because this is a very serious matter,” he emphasized.

The President was told that no significant changes were introduced to the admissions system this year. The admissions process is proceeding according to the established algorithm. “Yet, there is a small (1.5% to 2%) under-enrollment for government-sponsored courses. We must take action to eliminate under-enrollment. After all, we pay money to train specialists that the domestic economy badly needs. What are the Education Ministry and the government doing about it? What have they already done and what needs to be done?” the head of state asked.

The President recalled his demand to ensure transparency of the admissions process. According to him, it is important to thoroughly process every application.

“We talk about this a lot. Centralized testing is a good thing. But we remember the time when we had to take exams in person, when a teacher and an applicant sat opposite each other and the teacher saw the applicant; it was a good practice. Has everything been done to guarantee transparency? This is key to ensuring integrity of the process,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about special admissions and the fairness of this process. “I know you. You are not only educated people, you were also excellent students. And you have been through this and know the principle: if your academic level is poor, you will be rejected. When we graduated from universities, those who performed poorly at the beginning ended up outperforming ‘A’ students who had aced entrance exams. Therefore, I would like to hear your perspective on that,” the head of state said.

The President acknowledged progress to promote vocational training among young people. Applicants are eager to enroll at vocational schools, and these enrollments are on the up.

“This is good, nice to hear that. What additional measures still need to be taken to encourage young people to go to technical colleges? Maybe some measures should be taken at my level too?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.

According to the data presented to the head of state, this year 28,000 people are to be enrolled at vocational schools, which is 1,200 more than in 2024.

The head of state asked Education Minister Andrei Ivanets about this year's university admissions campaign, as well as the process of the centralized exams and centralized testing.

“The university admissions campaign is proceeding in strict adherence to the principles of equality, fairness and transparency,” the minister emphasized. “It is the third time that Belarusian school leavers have been taking two centralized exams: one in the state language and one in a chosen subject. School leavers in Belarus used to sit four exams before.”

When the President asked about the centralized examination process, Andrei Ivanets explained that the centralized exams are actually a knowledge assessment in the form of a test. These tests are checked by a computer, and double-checked by two independent persons. “There is no room for mistake here at all,” the minister assured.

School leavers took the centralized exams on 26 and 29 May this year. Those were the exams in the state language and a subject of choice. A total of 144 centralized examination points were used for these purposes.

“Secondary school leavers are taking exams. Young people have finished 11 years of studies and are taking exams not at school as it was before... They do not take four [exams], but one in a subject of choice and one in the Belarusian or Russian language,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said, and the minister confirmed it. School leavers sit two centralized exams and receive a certificate of secondary education.

This certificate can be subsequently used for enrolling in institutions of higher education. University applicants will also have to take a centralized testing on the subject depending on the university they choose to study at.

“If you decide to take an exam in history, then you are likely to choose the history or social studies faculty,” the President said. The education minister confirmed this by saying: “You take the certificate [of secondary education] and use it [to apply to a higher education institution].”

“If you passed with honors, you will use it of course,” the head of state said. “If not, you can still take the university exam. Right?”

Andrei Ivanets explained that school leavers can take the centralized testing in only one subject. “We have decided against the system of four centralized tests during the university admissions campaign. We did it to exclude all the hustle and bustle [for the applicants trying to choose the specialty they can enroll in during the university admissions process],” he said. “With the two centralized exams and one centralized testing, an applicant can still choose different universities but follow one specialty, i.e. to be an engineer, a social studies specialist, or an economist or a lawyer. This is a very important measure.”

The head of state asked how many exams a school leaver, who wants to study, for example, history in university, should take. According to the minister, a school leaver who decides to take up such a specialty needs to take a centralized exam in the Russian or Belarusian language, which is mandatory for all school leavers, and sit exams in history and social studies either as a centralized exam or a centralized testing.

“[Applicants] need to take three exams,” First Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Pertsov said. “The applicant should have three exam certificates in order to be able to take up history courses at university. Applicants should not feel torn between various universities. We are talking about an early conscious choice of the future profession here.”

Deputy Prime Minister Natalya Petkevich, who heads the state commission in charge of university admissions in 2025, pointed out that school leavers now do not take exams in several subjects but choose only one that is necessary for enrollment in a particular university specialty. If, for example, someone does poorly in a history centralized test, they have no opportunity to take a test in another subject. “There is no chance to retake the test, Aleksandr Grigoriyevich [Lukashenko] because it has already been taken. University applicants can take only one centralized test. That is, if you do badly in history, you will have to look for a university with history specialties and an acceptable threshold score level,” she explained.

“Does it work? Are applicants happy with the system?” the President asked.

“Applicants and their parents perceive it positively, as it frees them from additional stress and double burden of taking both school and university admission exams,” the Education Minister said.

“Do applicants get enough healthy stress then? Do they realize all the responsibility of the steps they are taking?” the head of state asked.

The minister replied that this year eight people could not finish the centralized exams due to medical reasons. Most likely it was due to stress, he said. They were provided with timely medical care, and they will be able to take centralized exams on reserve dates, 21 and 23 June. All necessary conditions have been created for this.

The mobile phone use policy have been tightened this year as well, Andrei Ivanets added. “They are not allowed not only in exam halls but also at the centralized exam venue in general. Only one person was sent away from the centralized exam for using a mobile phone and one person was sent away for keeping filling the exam form after the time was up. With a total of 56,600 school leavers, we believe it to be a good result,” the minister said.

“It is a good one indeed,” the President agreed. “You did right by toughening the mobile phone use policy and other rules. If you come [to take an exam or a test], the main thing you should do is to use your brain. You come, sit down and start working. There is no excessive strictness here.”