Republic

MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – The readiness of Belarusian educational institutions for the new academic year, workforce training, optimization of the structure and content of curricula were discussed on 9 August as Belarusian Education Minister Sergei Maskevich delivered his report to President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the press service of the head of state told BelTA. The Minister said that all educational institutions were completely ready for the beginning of the new academic year. In particular, the planned number of teachers and professors has been hired and the necessary textbooks have been printed. School uniforms and footwear as well as writing implements are on sale. According to the Minister, measures to provide financial support to low-income families with school students have been devised. Everything has been done to arrange proper meals for school students. This year six new schools, 15 new pre-school institutions, and two new halls of residence will be opened in Belarus. The Education Ministry is about to start several pilot projects. One of them envisages intensive use of electronic education instruments. The project is assisted by the Belarusian High-Tech Park. Eight education institutions have been shortlisted for the experiment that will involve using netbooks in primary schools. The President was made familiar with the new educational device. The head of state approved of the idea. The quality of workforce training in Belarus was discussed during the report. Alexander Lukashenko remarked: “It is necessary to take a closer look at workforce training in the country. I might be mistaken but I think that at least a third of what we teach is absolutely useless after graduation. We know that many university students skim through individual disciplines or learn them only to pass exams and forget because they won’t need them in the future”. The problem was touched upon during a recent visit of Alexander Lukashenko to Gorki District, Mogilev Oblast where the country’s oldest agrarian college, the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, is located. “The academy will have to undergo a substantial remodeling just like other universities. The academy clearly demonstrates that roughly one fourth or one third of the graduates do not pursue the trade they have been taught. Why did we accept more students then? Don’t we have other things to spend money on?” said the President. Alexander Lukashenko severely criticized university curricula as drastically outdated and out of touch with modern agribusiness. The head of state also spoke of education terms: “Judging by what students get in the academy and other universities, education terms can be reduced by 25%. We agreed that final-year students will be busy only with material production, at agricultural enterprises in order to get their hands dirty”. The President was insistent on changing both curricula and education terms. Alexander Lukashenko pointed out discrepancies in the demand for the specialists that Belarusian universities train. “We should examine what professions we train. We need engineers most of all now. But instead we are buried under lawyers, economists, and political analysts. But aware of the situation we still continue training them. The situation must change,” said the head of state. The President decided that a national conference will be held in 2011 to analyze the state of affairs in the Belarusian education system in detail and to coordinate the operation of educational institutions.

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