This year’s proposal by the Ministry of Education regarding the entrance procedure to some faculties (journalism, law, international relations and customs law) caused different reactions from applicants and their parents. Excited and uncertain for not having any information about how the interview was to be conducted, thousands of future applicants went to the appointed universities last weekend. The first round of the “professional-psychological interviews” which are to decide who can enter the University or not, were held on April 5th and 6th. Generation.by suggested Franak Viachorka, a student who was recently expelled from the Faculty of Journalism at the Belarusian State University (BSU) to attend the interview. As a potential applicant he had the opportunity to see how the people who once accepted him to University and gave him excellent grades would evaluate him now, taking into account the political background of his recent expulsion.
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The topic of student expulsions on political grounds rose new debates in the Internet. The reason for that was the action of the Austrian National Union of Students OeH against the politically motivated student expulsions in Belarus. The action of OeH was organized in front of the building of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, where a conference “Belarus in Europe: Economic Co-operation and Political Debate” was held last Friday. In particular, the students were protesting against the fact that the organizers had invited Rector Shimov, known for expelling student activists, as a speaker. The action itself, as well as the information about it published by some Belarusian media, led to long online debates last week. 
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We have already informed about the initiative of the Belarusian Ministry of Education to limit access to higher education. One of the new rules was the letter of recommendation to be submitted to enter some specializations, like Journalism, International Relations, Law and Public Administration, etc. Unfortunately the alarming news has not raised enough feedback from society.The HEIs will start to conduct interviews already this spring. To get an approving recommendation to enter the abovementioned specializations, applicants will have to pass an interview in front of a big panel.
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Franak Viachorka, a youth activist and member of the National Council in the Board of the Belarusian Popular Front, was expelled from the Belarusian State University after he was not present in two exams due to his 15-day arrest.
January is a usual month for exams in Belarus. This is the time when students are rarely involved in anything but heavy studying and passing exams. Serious focus on passing exams is especially important as the belarusian system of education is rather strict. If a student fails an exam, he or she is given one more attemp to pass, but if the student does not success this leads directly to his or her expulsion. Continue reading…
The rules of entering higher education in Belarus are going to be changed soon. The attitude of the Belarusian state to higher education is also changing. The ministry in charge is already alarming about too many specialist with higher education diplomas and lack of labour force at the same time. What are the steps to be taken by the state to solve the problem?
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