Education: No country for Private and Foreign Entities

Siarhei Alsheuski

Summary

The state of Belarusian education in 2022 can best be characterized by the systematic undermining of the foundation of private Belarusian schools, which at the beginning of the year seemed to be a more efficient and high-quality alternative to the state education system. This deterioration was evident not only in the de facto dismantling of private general education but also in the persistence of repressive and intimidating policies directed at students and educators across all educational levels. As a rule, country schools saw an expansion of military-patriotic education, while universities intensified personnel purges and implemented ideological employment interviews, especially for managerial roles.

Trends:

Liquidation of Private Schools

In October 2022, Aleksandr Lukashenko enacted a law mandating the licensing of preschool and school education.1 This move can be considered a tactic to realize one of the hidden objectives of the Concept for the Development of the Education System of the Republic of Belarus until 2030: the elimination of private school education. The primary objective of the Concept is to ensure universal access to free general secondary education.

In addition to licensing, the system employed various means to pressure private education entities: administrative (such as imposing regulations and withholding the certification of school buildings), judicial (through lawsuits by regulatory authorities aiming to shut down private schools),2 and even criminal actions. In one case, the esteemed Belarusian tutor, Yevgeny Livyant, along with his family and associates, were detained following inspections at branches of the tutoring center "100 points". They face accusations of tax fraud.3 Consequently, some private education providers found it necessary to cease operations and hastily exit the country.

After the clampdown on private schools in Minsk, only three remained and were granted a license.4 Notably, the Minsk International Gymnasium, which was established in 2020 near the capital in the upscale Drozdy village and is linked to Irina Abelskaya, mother of Nikolai Lukashenko, faced no hurdles whatsoever.

Centralized Exam as a Tool to Mask the Inadequate Quality of School Education

The 2022 Education Code introduced notable alterations to the rules governing final examinations. A centralized exam (CE) for school graduates was established, focusing on two subjects: one of the two official languages and a subject of the student's choice. In my perspective, this was implemented to sidestep questions about the discrepancies between school grades and scores obtained on the centralized test. This shift is especially interesting in light of prior adjustments made to the test scoring methodology, which caused the average score to rise dramatically to 50 (equivalent to 7 in a 10-point system.

The new CE got rid of level 5 problems (required to get scores above 80). Now, students who have genuinely mastered the school program at a level equivalent to 7 or 8 will be able to earn 9 or 10 in the exam. Overall, the conversion scale of CE scores to grades appears flawed (Table 1). For instance, a student can get an 8 in chemistry with just 49 out of 100 points on the exam, while a score of 77 out of 100 in mathematics equates to a perfect 10.5

“Belarussian language” “Russian language”
10-point scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CE scores 1–2 3–6 7–14 15–25 26–32 33–41 54–67 54–67 68–81 82–100
«Math»
10-point scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CE scores 1–2 3–9 10–18 19–28 29–37 38–45 46–54 55–63 64–76 77–100
«Physics»
10-point scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CE scores 1–6 7–15 16–24 25–32 33–41 42–46 47–50 51–61 62–78 79–100
«Chemistry»
10-point scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CE scores 1 2–3 4–7 6–13 14–25 26–33 34–48 49–64 65–84 85–100

Table 1. Grade scale for CE participants.

Simultaneously, the outcomes of the national monitoring of mathematical literacy present concerning results regarding the training of highschoolers: 68% of students were unable to pass the assessment.

In response, the National Institute of Education introduced an additional "threshold" level of mathematical literacy in an attempt to obscure this alarming fact. It is worth noting that, in difference from this test, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) doesn't have a threshold level or any assessment levels below threshold.6

Purges Driven by Politics and War

The education system continued to witness personnel purges. In October 2022, the KGB conducted a raid on the institutes of the National Academy of Sciences. The security forces detained at least 44 people. Some were released upon signing a non-disclosure agreement, while others faced administrative arrests.7

When filling out leadership positions in educational institutions, candidates undergo "interviews" with representatives of the security agencies to gauge their loyalty to the current regime. Additionally, educational institutions regularly hold preventive talks with both students and educators, aiming to intimidate and prevent "illegal actions."

Reasons for these purges include not only an individual’s stance on the 2020 elections but also opinions on the war in Ukraine. As an example, in Bobruisk, a history teacher faced trial for wearing a blue and yellow ribbon in her hair. This act was interpreted as "active participation in a mass event in the form of picketing."8 While some colleagues stood by her, others reported her to the police. I was also made aware of an incident where a teacher reported a student to the police for expressing a view on the war in Ukraine that deviated from the official stance. The student was subsequently expelled from his advanced class.

Higher Education Reserved for the Ideologically Aligned

The college and university admission process has reintroduced character references for schoolchildren. Coupled with other recent changes, such as an increase in the so-called targeted recruitment (i.e., guaranteed free education in exchange for an employment obligation at the government's discretion) and a decrease in available paid positions, these can be seen not only as means to exert pressure on students and their guardians, but also as a filter for entry into higher education that sorts prospective students into “friends” and “enemies”.

All these shifts are diminishing the appeal of higher education in Belarus among the youth. As a result, there is an increasing number of applicants each year planning to pursue higher education abroad. The Lukashenko regime has attempted to counteract this trend in several ways:

However, these measures seem more likely to accelerate the emigration of young Belarusians even further.

Conclusion

In the short term, the developments the education system witnessed in 2022 can be described as an ideological purge, aimed at fostering conformity and suppressing dissent. However, in the long term, this approach is likely to produce a generation that, in just five or so years, may not accept the authority of the current regime, potentially igniting a new wave of social protests that will surpass even that of 2020.

In 2023, the repressive policies are expected to persist. They will predominantly impact educators in their professional capacities, leading to emotional burnout and a lack of motivation. This, in turn, will contribute to a further decline in the quality of education. In response, Belarusians will further integrate into the global educational landscape, thereby minimizing the adverse effects resulting from the actions of the Lukashenko regime.