Meeting to discuss development of the national education system

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko hosted a government meeting on 23 August to discuss the development of the national education system.

The head of state said that he traditionally holds meetings with representatives of the education system ahead of Knowledge Day to compare notes and listen to the reports on the readiness of the country’s educational institutions for the new academic year. This time the usual format of the event has been slightly changed to include a wider circle of stakeholders.

The President explained why he made the decision: “At the beginning of the year we significantly updated the Education Code and the admission rules for technical colleges and universities. A revision of the legislation is underway. This year’s admission campaign has been held in a renewed format. We will talk about this work today, discuss this year’s admission campaign and the ways we are going to move forward. The main changes in accordance with the Education Code and the rules of admission will take effect in 2023. We are launching a new admission campaign with the start of the academic year in fact. I want to hear from those present how the education system, local authorities, and the higher school are ready for these changes."

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that the main principle of his education policy is the fair treatment of every person and equal opportunities for learning.

“While thinking about this thesis I have made a conclusion that today we have more opportunities for this than ever before. This is true especially for employer-sponsored education. This format of learning is a great benefit. Those who did well at school have the opportunity to go to university,” the President said.

“Therefore, teachers, school leavers and their parents should know all the admission rules,” the Belarusian leader said.

He recalled that at the previous meeting in November 2021 former Education Minister Igor Karpenko reported on the priorities of the sector, which were generally supported. “New Education Minister Andrei Ivanets got a good head start, but I know that he has his own opinion on certain issues. This is good. For me it is important to hear your vision of the situation in the education system, to discuss once again the implementation of new approaches to the organization of the educational process, exams for school leavers, civil and patriotic education of children and youth,” said the President.

The head of state also stressed the need to consider problematic issues. “I am sure there are such issues. I would like them to be voiced today. I urge those present to have a frank conversation. If there is any doubt about the decisions made and if you see any problems, let's discuss them today. We have no time to waste. If we are wrong, people will not forgive us. How many times are we going to revisit the issue of reforming and improving our education system? Most of our citizens are connected to the education system in one way or another. These are the main topics for today's discussion, on which I would like to focus your attention,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.