On December 12–13, 2024, en event in Berlin brought together around 30 representatives of the Belarusian democratic community. Union activists, educators, scholars, students, human rights defenders, and others joined to discuss potential reforms of the education system in a democratic Belarus of the future. The conference “Legal Framework for Inclusive and Accessible to All Education in Belarus” was organized by the Global Labour University and the Salidarnast e.V. Association.
The event was attended by representatives of the Independent Education and Research Workers’ Union “Asvetnik”, the “Honest Teachers”, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Belarusian Education Association, and other initiatives.
Education system issues in Belarus
The discussion started with the analysis of key issues hindering the development of education in the country. The participants noted the State’s total monopoly of the educational process and suppression of private initiatives, the militarization, bureaucratization, politicization, and ideologization of the system of learning. The situation is further exacerbated by the lack of funding, the brain drain with students and educators fleeing the country, as well as the isolation from international education programmes. Contributing to the overall decline are also the underdeveloped distance learning and the absence of competitive environment.
Against the backdrop of integration with the education system of Russia , there is a growing number of joint projects like the introduction of the centralized exam (an analogue of the Russian Unified State Exam) and the creation of unified textbooks which strengthen the isolation of Belarus from the European Education Area. The participants also voiced their concern regarding the lack of curricula in the Belarusian language and the inequality between educators and students in education processes.
The dramatic shrinking of Belarus’ population comes as another challenge for the education system. During the past 50 years, the number of school age children has decreased by over 40%. Forecasts speak of continued decrease in population to 8 million people by 2050. In the meanwhile, there is a growing outflow of people from rural areas to towns leading to lower demand for education in the countryside. These trends come on top of the mass emigration of people after 2020 which further worsens the workforce deficit crisis.
The situation in the education system deteriorates with the funding cuts when funds are channeled to the military and security sectors, as well as with the strict State control over education institutions. The ever harsher repressions against dissidence, massive politically motivated dismissals of educators, and the employment ban for “unreliable” teachers undermine the academia. These actions result in lower quality of education and reputational losses for Belarusian universities internationally.
“Recruitment procedure includes a system to filter off all politically “undesirable” candidates”, says a former Belarusian State University lecturer. “For starters, you are obliged to join the “Belaya Rus” party or the Trade Union Federation of Belarus (FPB). They also use the newly introduced practice of requiring reference letters from your previous job. Sometimes, a PhD degree holder is unable to find a teaching job even in a secondary school. Belarus, in essence, has introduced a ban on the teaching profession for all “unreliables”. A new feature is the monitoring of educators’ visits to “unfriendly” countries or if they have relatives abroad. After such a visit, the educator will be interviewed or have to required fill out a questionnaire. The constant monitoring of the staff’s media has long stopped being a surprise to anyone.”
The Conference participants put a particular focus on non-formal education. The issues associated with its development include underfunding, the lack of learning outcomes recognition, fragmentation of initiatives in this area, and high staff turnover rates. Despite all these, non-formal education remains an important tool of maintaining independent thinking and alternative approaches to education.
Reform initiatives and paths
In the course of the event, two draft concepts of educations system reform were presented. They were a subject of lively discussion, with the participants analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and looking onto what else could be added. There was also a proposal to study inte3rnational experiences related to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the area of education. To oppose the Belarusian authorities’ propaganda, the participants voice the idea of creating a “coalition” to promote independently verified data on the situation of education in the country.
The participants agreed that reforming the education system is a long-term process and they needed to start getting ready for it today. Proposals included, inter alia:
Creation of a coordination center for educational initiatives and data gathering.
Development and preservation of the education “philosophy” and the system stabilization.
Enhancement of legal literacy of students and education personnel.
The second day of the Conference saw breakout sessions where the participants discussed specific issues and ways of resolving them. The group reports showed that the issues of funding, academic freedom, and legal support remain crucial for all levels of education.
The Berlin Conference was an important step towards uniting teachers and activists who are interested in reforming the education system in Belarus. The participants agreed that future education must be based on democratic values, personal liberty, and social partnership. Teachers’ self-organization and the implementation of proposed initiatives can lay down a foundation for building a new system to meet the present and future challenges.
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