Higher Education in - UNESCOunesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001056/105657eo.pdf · Numbers of...

378 14761 HIG

7 I

CEPES EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR HIGI-IER EDUCATION

Higher Education in

1994

HIGHER EDUCATION IN

BELARUS

compiled by ALEXANDER PROKHOROV

Monographs on Higher Education

edited by

Leland Conley Barrows

CEPES Bucharest, 1994

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF DIAGRAMS .............................................................................................. 5 PREFACE ..................................................................... ...................................... 6

FOREWORD .............................................. ......................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1 BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN BELARUS .......................... 8 CHAPTER 2 MAIN DIRECTIONS OF CHANGE IN CONTEMPORARY

HIGHER EDUCATION ................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 3 THE STRUCTURE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM ................... 13 CHAPTER 4 THE COMPOSITION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM ................ 16 CHAPTER 5 THE STEERING AND FINANCING OF HIGHER EDUCATION ......... 25 CHAPTER 6 PROBLEMS OF THE CONTENT AND METHODOLOGY OF

HIGHER EDUCATION ............................................ 27

CHAPTER 7 THE PROBLEM OF THE BELARUSSIFICATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION ........................................................... 30

CHAPTER 8 THE INTEGRATION OF GENERAL SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION ................................................................. 33

CHAPTER 9 HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH .................................... 34 CHAPTER 10 ACCESS AND ADMISSION TO HIGHER EDUCATION .......... CHAPTER 11 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ..................................................... 40 CHAPTER 12 STAFF DEVELOPMENT, UPGRADING, AND RETRAINING. CHAPTER 13 NON-FORMAL EDUCATION ..............................

CHAPTER 14 CONTINUING EDUCATION. .................................

CHAPTER 15 INTERNATIONAL CO- SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ............. ANNEXES ........................................... ANNEX 1. STATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE

REPUBLIC OF BELARUS .................................................................. 61 ANNEX 2. PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN

THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS .......................................................... 66

3

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Numbers of Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Belarus (1915-1993) ........................................................................................... 9

1 1

Table 3. Distribution of General Secondary School Teachers according to

Table 4. Sectorial Distribution of Specialized Secondary Education

Subject Taught ..................................................................................... 20

Establishments ................. ................................................................... 22

Table 5. Departmental Subordination of Higher Education Institutions in the

Table 6. Distribution of Hi her Education Students by Language of Instruction

Republic of Belarus (1 993) .................................................................. 26

in the Republic o 9 Belarus .................................................................... 31

Table 7. Numbers of Students in Higher Education in the Republic of Belarus according to Ethnic Origin (1 992-1 993 academic year) ........... ...... ..... 31

Table 8. Distribution of Enrollments in Higher Education by Groups of Disciplines (1 993) ............................................................... 37

Table 9. Total Numbers of Students Enrolled in Higher Education and Graduation Figures in Terms of Specialties (1993) ............................. 41

Table 10. Distribution of Students in Higher Education by Age ........................... 41

Table 1 1 . Distribution of Full-Time Students in Higher Education according to Size of Stipends and Group of Disciplines (1993) .......... 42

Table 12. Provision of Lodging in Residence Halls for Full-Time Students in Higher Education Institutions in Belarus (1993) ................................... 42

Table 13. Space Available in Buildings for Classrooms, Laboratories, and Other Learnin Facilities in Full-Time Higher Education Institutions in Belarus (1 983) ................................................................................ . 43

Table 14. Numbers of Hjgher Education Institutions and Students by Region in the Republic of Belarus (1 993) ........................................................ 44

Table 15. Numbers, Categories, and Distribution of Academic Staff in Higher Education in the Republic of Belarus (1 993) .................. ... .... .. ............ 44

4

LIST OF DIAGRAMS

Diagram 1 . The Structure of Education in Belarus ................................................ 14

Diagram 2 . The System of Continuing Education in Belarus ................................ 53

5

PREFACE After a long delay, CEPES is pleased to publish a new volume, No. 19, in its monograph series on Higher Education Systems in the Europe Region of UNESCO, on higher education in Belarus. The volume is a revision of a previous volume, No. 6, published in 1983, on higher education in what was then called the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

It is an understatement to say that much has changed in Belarus over the years between the publication of the first study on Belarussian higher education and this study. Indeed, the theme of this study in fact is change itself, as Belarus struggles to build itself a state-of-the-art higher eduction system adapted to the realities of a market economy and to liberal democratic institutions currently in the making. Yet as the reader will easily perceive, the successive reforms of different aspects of higher education which first got underway in 1990 are firmly anchored in a tradition of education which goes back several centuries. Thus there is both continuity and change.

Among the notable features of higher education in Belarus today are various attempts to integrate aspects of general secondary and higher education and to provide for continuing education and retraining possibilities at all levels. Students will thus be better equipped to face economic and technological change.

For CEPES, there is particular significance in the publication of this volume in that its author and compiler, Professor Alexander Prokhorov of Minsk, Belarus, was a programme specialist at CEPES from 1981 to 1989. He is once again making an important contribution to the CEPES programme.

W e trust that our readers will find this monograph, the first one in the series on the higher education system of one of the newly independent countries of eastern Europe, both interesting and informative. W e would like to express our gratitude both to Professor Prokhorov and to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus.

Carin Berg

Director of CEPES

6

FOREWORD

The aim of this monograph is to present a short description of the contemporary situation of higher education in the Republic of Belarus. It is based on an analytical review of the present-day problems of higher education, as reflected in recent laws and policy documents as well as in the various educational policies and strategies developed to confront the new conditions which have arisen as a result of the recent political and economic changes in the Republic.

The hope is that the reader will view the monograph not only as a description of the current status quo but that through reading it he or she will come to understand and appreciate the great importance which all Belarussian policy makers, decision makers, and academic staff members are giving to the development and improvement of higher education in their country in conditions of national, political, and economic independence.

I would like to express my gratitude and warmest thanks to the various specialists who assisted me in the collection of materials and data for the writing of this monograph. I am particularly grateful to Mrs. Tatiana Galko, Head of the Department of Higher Education Institutions and of Pedagogical Education in the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and to her collaborators.

Alexander Prokhorov

7

Chapter 1

BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN BELARUS

The population of Belarus is approximately 10.3 million of whom 77.9 percent are Belarussians; 13.2 percent, Russians; 4.1 percent, Poles; 2.9 percent, Ukrainians and members of many other ethno-national groups.

The Republic of Belarus is situated in the centre of Europe. For centuries, it has had very close cultural, economic, and, educational ties as well as other forms of co- operation with both western European countries, such as Poland and Germany, and with eastern European countries, such as Russia and Ukraine.

Unfortunately, during the 800 years of its existence, Belarus became a battlefield for a number of wars which were fought at approximately ten-year intervals. The phenomenon of war influenced not only the economic and cultural development of the country but also the evolution of the mentality and the psychology of the Belarussian nation: its tolerance and its respect for the value of human life.

At the same time, by its location in the centre of Europe, Belarus was given the opportunity to absorb and to adopt the main cultural values of both eastern and western Europe. In comparison to Russia and Ukraine in the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries (the period of the Renaissance), Belarus occupied a leading position in the development of general culture (particularly in law, literature, the arts, industry, education, the printing of books, etc.), and progressively influenced the development of general culture in neighbouring countries.

Several religions existed in Belarus in this period: Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Evangelical Lutheranism; Uniate Catholicism, Calvinism, and others. In their peaceful struggles for the minds and hearts of Belarussians, all the churches directed their efforts towards the creation of different types of schools, publishing houses, and even theatres. Belarussian students studied in such universities as those of Padua, Rome, Prague, Berlin, and Warsaw, returning with cosmopolitan knowledge and humanist ideals.

From an early date, Belarus became the object of the military ambitions of Russia and Poland, both of which successfully reduced the country to colonial dependency. Depending upon which country was in control, they enforced policies of polonization or of russification of Belarussian culture. From this period onward, most talented Belarussians were forced to study in the higher education institutions of one of these countries or the other. For this reason, many well-known Belarussian intellectuals and artists are considered to be representatives of other cultures (as in

8

BRIEF HISTORY

Years 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955

Numbers of h.ed. institutions 1 4 22 24 24

the cases of the composers, M. Glinka and S. Maniusko, and the writers, E. Orzesko, A. Mickiewicz, and F. Dostoyevsky).

The first university-type higher education institution was opened at the end of the sixteenth century in Vilno (Vilnius), then the capital of Belarus. But it was closed with the beginning of Russian domination in the eighteenth century.

During the tsarist period, the socio-economic status of Belarus was very unfavourable because it was regarded as a marginal province of Russia. Consequently, the tsarist government took little interest in its spiritual and cultural development. Belarussian intellectuals pressed constantly for the creation of a national system of higher education, one, however, which would offer "a broader higher education for noblemen".

In the late 1830's, discussion focussed on the founding of an agricultural higher education institution in Belarus. In 1840, an agricultural school was organized on the government estate of Gory Gorky in the Orsha region. The first or lower level of this school trained a work force of enserfed peasants for landed estates. The second or higher level was open to the privileged classes of society, training practical agronomists to manage large manors. In 1842, by order of Tsar Nicholas I, the higher level became an independent educational institution for the training of specialists in advanced agronomy. Twenty years later, what had been known as the Gory-Goretsky Institute moved to Saint Petersburg where it became the basis of what became the Saint Petersburg Agricultural Institute.

The events of the 1905-1 907 years in Russia gave an impetus to the creation of educational establishments in the northwest part of the Russian empire. Thus, in 1910, a teacher training college was opened in Vitebsk. A similar type of teacher training college was opened in Minsk in 1914 (See Table 1).

1965 1975 1980 1985 1990 1993

27 31 33 33 33 37

Table 1. Numbers of Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Belarus (1915-1993)

The first modern higher education institution was the Vitebsk pedagogical institute founded after the October Revolution in 1918 as an expansion of a former teacher training college. Later, the institutes of public education in Minsk and Mogilev were opened. In 191 9, the Gory-Goretsky Agricultural Institute was re-opened. Later, in 1925, it became the Belarussian Agricultural Academy.

In 1921, the first Belarussian State University was opened. Its characteristic feature was the priority which it gave to industrial and technical higher training as

9

HIGHER EDUCATION IN BELARUS

had been mandated for Belarussian higher education by the first Soviet Five-Year Plan. At the beginning of the 1930's, Institutes of Electronics, Chemical Technology, Construction, and Peat Technology were set up in Minsk. Mechanical and Forest- Technical Institutes were opened in Gomel.

By the year 1933, there were nine higher technical institutes enrolling 2,511 students, thus raising the total number of students in Belarus by thirty percent. In 1932, the Belarussian Conservatory was founded in Minsk. In 1937, the Belarussian Institute of Physical Education opened its doors, offering training for future teachers and coaches in different sports.

By 1941, more than 20,000 students were enrolled in the Belarussian system of higher education, studying to become specialists in industry, education, the health services, and agriculture.

The Second World War interrupted the work of the various Belarussian higher education institutions. Six of them, leading research and training institutions, were evacuated beyond the reach of the invaders. Thus, the faculty members of the Belarussian higher education institutions were able to resume their activities in new locations. In 1943, Belarussian State University re-opened in Skhodnia, near Moscow, and the Minsk Medical Institute re-opened in Saratov.

After the War, Belarus exerted great efforts to rebuild its economy and to renew the activities of its educational and cultural institutions. By 1960, the network of higher education institutions had not only been rebuilt but intensively extended, stimulated by the rapid development of public education, industry, agriculture, and the health services.

In the period immediately following the Second World War, several new higher education institutions were founded including the Belarussian Institute of Railway Engineers in Gomel, the Agricultural and Medical Institutes in Grodno, the Belarussian Institute for the Mechanization of Agriculture in Minsk, the Mogilev Machine Building Institute, the Minsk Radio Engineering Institute, the Brest Institute of Construction, the Vitebsk Technological Institute, Gomel State University, and a number of teacher training institutes.

In connection with the rapid growth of the national economy, various new higher education establishments were set up in the 1970's: the Mogilev Institute of Technology, Grodno State University, the Minsk Institute of Culture, the Gomel Polytechnic Institute, and others.

By 1985, Belarus possessed a well-developed network of higher education establishments capable of training a sufficient number of specialists for nearly every branch of the national economy. These specialists included not only persons trained in traditional fields but others trained in such fields as applied mathematics, automated control systems, automation and comprehensive mechanization of industrial engineering, microbiology, and many others.

10

BRIEF HISTORY

Total number (in thous.) including:

Higher education graduates

Specialized secondary school graduates

By 1985, the network comprised thirty-three higher education institutions and was training approximately 17,000 students per year in more than 200 specialties by means of full-time, evening, and correspondence instruction. More than 30,000 specialists with higher education credentials were integrating the social and industrial activities of the Republic (See Table 2).

1960 1970 1980 1990 1993

276.2 577.2 1056.4 1433.7 1450.0

1 1 0.2 235.3 455.3 638.0 641 .O

66.0 341 9 601.1 795.0 794.2

Table 2. Numbers of Specialists Having Secondary and Specialized Higher Education Qualifications Employed in the National Economy of the Republic of Belarus (1960-1993)

1 1

Chapter 2

MAIN DIRECTIONS OF CHANGE IN

CONTEMPORARY HIGHER EDUCATION

In recent years, the educational system of Belarus has been caught in a crosswind. On the one hand, it has had to adopt a conservative stance, transmitting traditions, social experience, and collective knowledge from generation to generation. At the same time, it has had to respond to global changes, not only by meeting changes in the human personality with new psychology and a new world view but also by training new types of specialists. Then also the educational system has had to deal with the structural, political, and economic changes in Belarus resulting from independence. Thus Belarus has entered the world stream of educational reconstruction which embraces all directions of educational activity.

The changes that are being made are first of all being directed at the task of forming a new type of specialist, one not only highly qualified professionally in a precise activity but one who is also creative, capable of taking decisions rapidly, highly mobile, and imbued with a sense of responsibility. In order to fulfill this task, the content of education is being rethought. Regarding, in particular, new approaches to teacher training and to engineering education, researchers and teachers have had two problems in mind: how to impart highly professional qualities to each graduate in a concrete sphere of activity, given the large number of specializations called for by the needs of the scientific-economic complex of the Republic, and how to prepare everyone to be able to cope rapidly and successfully with unexpected and unforeseen changes in general scientific, theoretical, and cultural knowledge.

One of the main directions in educational reform is the transition to that type of higher education institution which offers an optimal combination of fundamental training in terms of theory and specialization. In fact, higher education throughout the world is attempting to guarantee this type of balance for itself; however, while western Europe is laying the basis for this model using the classical university as the starting point, developing specialization and professionalization, Belarus is approaching this model from the other direction - moving from specialized (sometimes very narrowly specialized) institutions to higher education establishments of university type, that is, to multiprofile educational institutions. These, except in the cases of the strictly professional curricula, offer students in- depth, theoretical, and general cultural preparation, favouring the formation of creative personalities for postindustrial society.

12

Chapter 3

THE STRUCTURE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

In accordance with the Declaration of 27 July 1991, the Republic of Belarus, a swereign state, has its own educational system and guarantees to all its citizens the possibility of personal development through education. The latter is keyed to the needs and abilities of the population and takes account not only of the cultural and historical heritage of the Belarussian people but also of the various minority communities in the Republic. The development of education is a priority, one which is in compliance with the rights of citizens to receive education and professional knowledge, the adoption of national cultural values, and the protection of intellectual property, talent, and knowledge.

These general principles were laid down in the Law on Education of the Republic of Belarus, which was adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic on 29 October 1991 and has become the juridical basis for the large-scale reform of the whole education system. The reform measures include the broad differentiation and integration of education, its democratization and humanization, and efforts to stimulate both the continuity and the rebirth of the best traditions of Belarussian education. The new educational concept calls for the organization of successive stages of education: pre-school education, primary education, secondary education, vocational and secondary specialized training, higher education, postgraduate studies, and different forms of re-training and continuing education for specialists. On the basis of this pattern, new educational establishments based on a fundamentally new model are to be created according to the above stages (see Diagram l), including kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, higher secondary schools, vocational schools, technical secondary schools, /ycea, gymnasia, and colleges.

Generally speaking, qualified students have free access to all educational stages. They are expected to benefit from the variety of contents and forms of education which contribute to the wide opportunities which are made available to them to develop their abilities.

Special educational development programmes emphasize the following: national schooling; the mother tongue; education for gifted children, pre-school education, and the social protection of childhood; the informatization of education; and rural schooling. Some 2,875,000 persons are receiving training in 5,709 educational institutions of different types. Nowadays, around 150,000 specialists and qualified workers are receiving professional education grants and certificates each year.

13


Diagram 1. The Structure of Education in Belarus

C o I I e g e

I

I A:::"- I Higher

education

I Senior I 1 school Lyceum

I I

I I I

Junior secondarg school LIJ Ggm- I

School-

Kindergarten

-

I

I Primary school

I I I

I '+' Creche

I

-1-1 I rindergartel Kindergarten I I Creche I

22

2 1

20 19 18 17 It3

15 14 13

1;

1 1 10

9

a 7 e, 5 4

3 2 1 -

I I I I INon-formal education 1 I Alternatiwe Drlwate fotms of education

I

In addition, 160 research establishments, staffed by 45,000 staff-members, are operating in Belarus. Some thirty-five percent of their researchers have earned advanced degrees. Some 2,835 postgraduate students are being trained in the Academy of Sciences and in the higher education institutions of Belarus (1 992).

14

STRUCTURE OF THE SYSTEM

Belarus has 6,000 libraries, 14,000 cultural centres and movie theatres, and about 100 museums.

Belarus is a full member of the United Nations and of UNESCO. It plays an active role in the realization of the principal international projects in the domain of education. More than 4,000 students from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America are being trained in Belarus.

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Chapter 4

THE COMPOSITION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

The public education system in Belarus is composed of various types of educational establishments: pre-school, primary, and elementary establishments; distance education institutions; general secondary establishments; general education and specialized schools; vocational schools; secondary specialized and higher education institutions; institutes for the further training and retraining of specialists; and enterprises for public education. The managing bodies are the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the administrative and educational departments of the executive committees of the Councils of People's Deputies, and the educational and methodological institutions subordinated to them.

In accordance with Article 14 of the Law on Education of the Republic of Belarus of 29 October 1992 (N 1202-Xll), all state and non-state educational establishments on the territory of the Republic belong to the educational system of the country. The latter comprises 1) pre-school education; 2) general secondary education*; 3) distance education; 4) vocational training; 5) secondary specialized education; 6) higher education; 7) the advanced training of scientific, research, and educational personnel; 8) further training and retraining; 9) the individual education of citizens.

In terms of individual units, the system of public education includes 5,300 pre- school establishments, 5,289 schools providing general education, 149 secondary specialized institutions, 33 higher education establishments, and 5,390 distance and further education establishments.

The Republic of Belarus also has four military higher education institutions and ten private higher education institutions. Units of both sorts can be found in the six regions of the Republic.

At present, over 1.4 million specialists holding higher and secondary specialized diplomas are employed in Belarus. By comparison, the figure in 1960 was 276,000.

In Belarus, when used as an administrative designation, this category will sometimes include what are in fact the levels of primary, elementary, junior secondary, and senior secondary education.

16

COMPOSITION OF THE SYSTEM

4.1. Administration and Management

In accordance with the legislation currently in force in Belarus, certain state authorities are responsible for supervising the education system. These authorities include the Supreme Council or Parliament of the Republic, the Council of Ministers, as well as the local Councils of People's Deputies.

The Ministry of Education of Belarus has direct supervisory authority over most of the higher education and specialized secondary education establishments of the country, the subordinated scientific and educational research organizations, the institutes for the further training and retraining of teachers, and the so-called Republican educational institutions and organizations. It is entrusted with the general organizational and methodological monitoring of the activities of the administration and the educational departments of the executive committees of the local Councils of People's Deputies which are put in charge of the pre-school and boarding-school establishments for children, the general secondary schools, the vocational schools, and the pedagogical specialized schools.

The Ministry is empowered to undertake the following tasks: - to develop a system of continuing education in the Republic; - to develop a staffing policy for education, including the training and the

use of teachers; - to make constant efforts to update the content of education, to perfect

the forms and methods of teaching, and to adapt both to the realities of the current demand for manpower; to put into practice the concept that general secondary education is the basis for the further training of qualified workers and specialists having well-rounded personalities; to achieve high quality professional training, further training, and retraining for workers and specialists in educational establishments of all types; to make effective use of the scientific potential of higher education, indeed of the whole system of public education, in speeding up scientific and technical progress and in the improvement of the quality of specialist training;

- to elaborate and to put into practice measures for the technical re- equipping and development of the material base of the public education system;

- to make evaluations of the educational and specialist training process; - to promote international co-operation with foreign countries in the

domains of education and science.

17


The local administrative and educational authorities intervene directly in the management of the educational establishments (kindergartens, creches, secondary and vocational schools) of which they are in charge, settling the questions of their financing and of their provisioning.

The 1990-1993 period witnessed a considerable overhaul of the concepts of educational administration in the Republic. Particularly affected were the processes of the democratization of education, the transfer of many administrative functions from higher to lower echelons, the increase in the independence of educational establishments, the broadening of their rights in all major aspects of their activity, and the development of more open forms of management. The process has been furthered by the current transformations in the economic mechanisms underlying the productive and the educational spheres and the more widespread use of self- accounting principles, direct contractual relations between educational establishments and industry, and a renewal of the status of educational establishments, thus giving them the guarantee of freedom of action and of creative work.

Increased importance is being given to the regional structures not only of education but also of industry and the integration of the two. Thus the basis for socio-economic complex educational establishments as well as for industry-linked research institutions has been created, the two intended to cope jointly with the current and emerging challenges of the cultural and economic development of the various regions (provinces, districts, cities, and localities) of Belarus.

Given these prospects, the higher echelons of educational management fulfill strategic, perspective, and forecasting functions, thus determining the foremost tendencies, trends, and scales of educational development.

Given this approach, the educational establishments themselves are beginning to play a more active part in educational research and in production. Indeed, this course of action is stipulated in the Law on Education of the Republic of Belarus.

4.2.The Stages of Education

4.2.1. Pre-school

By signing the Convention on the Rights of Children on 26 July 1990 in New York (ratified by the Supreme Council on 28 July 1990), Belarus gave proof of its commitment to the welfare of young people.

At present, the Republic operates 5,300 pre-school establishments having a total enrollment of 561,900. The system of pre-school education includes creches for children three-years-old and under, and creche-kindergartens and kindergartens, for children between the ages of three and six. The various forms of pre-school education serve 61.3 percent of the children of Belarus of the relevant ages. As of

18


1987, some kindergartens are offering their six-year-olds the possibility of following the first grade programme. Upon completing kindergarten, they may enroll in the second grade of general schooling.

Pre-school educational establishments in the Republic are run by a variety of bodies. Some 24.4 percent of them are financed directly by educational organizations, the rest of them being funded by branch ministries and administrations.

The unfavourable ecological and health situation which came into being as a result of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station disaster gave rise to a need for an expanded network of sanatoria and pre-school establishments for chronically ill children. At present, twenty-nine sanatoria-type pre-schools and 658 sanatoria have been opened in the Republic. These are educating and treating some 15,000 affected children.

A consulting and socio-psychological aid service for families has been created. It administers two programmes: one known as the Protection of Maternity and Childhood under Conditions lnfluenced by the Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster, that having begun in 1991 is to run through 1995, and secondly, the national Family programme.

4.2.2. General Secondary Education

In accordance with the Law on Education of the Republic of Belarus, general secondary education is aimed at the development of the all-around creative abilities of the personality through mastery of the systems of knowledge of the main spheres of life, the acquisition of the principal habits of mental and manual work, the formation of aesthetic taste, and the development of moral convictions in combination with appropriate levels of physical training.

There are three stages of general education: - primary schooling (beginning at age 6, grades 1 to 4); - junior schooling (5 years, grades 5 to 9); - senior (upper) schooling (2 years, grades 10 to 11).

The aim of primary schooling is to ensure the initial education of the child. The subjects studied during this stage are of an integrated nature enabling the child to acquire general notions of nature, society, man, and labour.

The aim of junior schooling is to lay the groundwork for the general secondary education necessary for the continuation of education and preparation for post- school life. At this stage, pupils are offered a range of mandatory and elective subjects, the individual syllabi being fairly varied. Junior schooling is compulsory. Junior school leavers can go on to senior secondary schools or enter vocational and special secondary schools.

19


Subject

Senior (upper) secondary schooling completes general education on the basis of broad and in-depth differentiation. It includes both mandatory subjects and electives. The school councils, as the supreme bodies of institutional self- government, have the right to independently decide which curricula to choose: general, humanities, physics and mathematics, chemistry and biology, engineering, agriculture, economics, education, etc. The choice made determines the initial pre- professional training of pupils.

Senior (upper) secondary school leavers take school-leaving examinations, success in which leads to the award of maturity diplomas entitling graduates to apply for admission to higher or secondary specialized schools.

In 1993, Belarus had 5,289 general secondary schools which were enrolling 1,500,000 pupils and employing 129,000 teachers.

A network of schools for gifted children is also being developed. These schools offer advanced studies in the arts, the humanities, science and mathematics, and in a range of general subjects. There were 900 such schools in 1993.

Among the general secondary school teachers, seventy-nine per cent hold higher education diplomas; three per cent have incomplete higher education, 14.2 per cent are graduates of secondary specialized schools, and 0.8 per cent have general secondary education credentials (See Table 3).

Percentages holding higher Numbers of teachers education diplomas

Table 3. Distribution of General Secondary School Teachers according to Subject Taught

Russian language and literature Belarussian language and literature History, law Physics Mathematics Chemistry Geography Biology Foreign languages Music and singing Pictorial art and technical drawing Physical education and sports Labour training

12,600 9,100 6,600 5,000 12,400 3,200 3,700 3,'900 8,000 3,800 1,800 6,000 6,200

95 91.9 96.1 98.4 97.7 98.6 96.29 96.4 97.7 47.7 70.3 77.4 62.8

Nowadays, differentiation and integration are widely used in the development of the general education schools. One of every two schools and classes offer the in- depth study of given subjects. Differentiation is the principle underlying the establishment of lycea and gymnasia catering to pupils who are planning to enter

20


higher professional education. Twenty lycea, six colleges, and thirty gymnasia were operating in the Republic in 1993.

A great deal of attention has been focussed on the promotion of Belarussian national schooling, specifically the mastery of the national culture and history. The study of Belarussian (which is the state language), Russian, and one foreign language is compulsory in all schools.

Vocational schools offer two main course programmes: 1) for junior secondary school graduates, and 2) for senior secondary school graduates. In the first case, general secondary education is provided in vocational schools.

In the Republic, 238 vocational schools cater to 132,000 pupils who are trained in a choice of 420 trades. The annual overall vocational school turnout is 70,000 skilled workers. The average enrollment per vocational school is 600 students. The staff of the vocational schools numbers around 13.900 teachers.

Approximately twenty-five percent of the junior secondary school leavers and thirty-eight percent of the senior secondary school graduates enter the vocational schools annually.

Given the conditions of transition to a market economy, the importance of vocational training is increasing. A major inflow of junior and general education secondary school leavers into the vocational schools was expected in 1993. At the same time, about 300,000 persons in a total population of 10.3 million were expected to be unemployed by the end of 1993.

Thus the Ministry of Education along with the State Committee on Labour and Social Protection of the Population have elaborated a state system of early vocational training which is based on the new realities and problems.

4.2.3. Secondary Specialized Education

Secondary specialized education is offered by 149 establishments which cater to 139,000 students and offer full-time, part-time, and extramural courses. In 1993, 105,000 students were enrolled in full-time course programmes (3-4 years); 4,300 in part-time courses, and 29,700 in extramural courses.

Generally speaking, specialists with qualifications derived from secondary specialized education can direct elements of the organization and the management of primary production and assist specialists with higher qualifications. On the other hand, the independent execution of qualified work not only requires professional skills and habits but theoretical knowledge as well (See Table 4).

The increasing complexity of equipment and technology requires a significant rise in the level of secondary specialized education, so much, indeed, that it ends up

21


Industry Construction Transport Communications Agriculture Economics Health care and nurseries Physical education and sports Public education Arts, culture, and cinematography

Table 4. Sectorial Distribution of Specialized Secondary Education Establishments

32 36,000 0 7,000 5 5,000 2 3,000 27 29,000 15 13,000 17 16,000 0 2,000 22 20,000 13 4,100

4.2.4. Higher Education

The aim of higher education is to train highly qualified specialists in all the fields of the economy, of science, and of culture. The training includes the latest trends in these fields. It takes place in higher education institutions (universities, academies, and institutes), all of them constituting structural elements of continuing education.

Higher education is the keystone of the whole system of public education, for it trains the teachers, lecturers, and tutors for almost all the other educational levels. It determines the general standards of teaching and the general level of the educational system as a whole.

Higher education establishments have the following tasks: - to train specialists in accordance with recognized standards of

qualifications and to give them a profound theoretical knowledge of their specialties as well as the requisite practical skills;

- to foster high moral, patriotic, and physical qualities;

22


- to organize and to conduct fundamental and applied research for the purpose of solving economic problems in close coordination with teaching;

- to complete textbooks and teaching manuals; - to train research and teaching personnel of the highest level of

qualification and to organize upgrading courses for the teaching staff of educational establishments;

- to provide for the further training and retraining of specialists engaged in other spheres of the economy;

- to assist in the raising of the general educational and cultural standards of the population.

By implementing these functions, higher education perfects itself and directs its efforts and its huge creative potential towards the realization of its main mission: to accelerate social, economic;scientific, and cultural progress.

In the Minsk region, the largest region of Belarus in terms of area, there are seventeen higher education institutions: two in the Brest region; five in the Vitebsk region; six in the Gomel region; three in the Grodno region; and four in the Mogilev region. There are also fourteen instructional centres which are linked to institutions of higher education created to tender assistance to persons studying by correspondence (See Annex 1).

At present, the higher education network of the Republic of Belarus is composed of twelve universities, five academies, and sixteen institutes. There are also four military higher education institutions and ten non-state higher education institutions, the latter having only begun to develop their activities in the Republic in the past two years (See Annex 2).

The past three to four years have been marked by efforts in favour of the restructuring of higher education institutions and their tendency to join the European higher education network. This process is characterized both by changes in terms of structures and of forms and by changes in orientation and perspective.

One result of the recognition of high quality in certain institutions has been their transformation from simple institutes into universities and academies. Thus, in 1989 in the Republic there were three universities; in 1993, there were twelve. In 1989, there was one academy; in 1993, there were five. These new universities and academies, however, have retained their specialized orientations: pedagogy, economics, culture, etc. The changes in the forms of organization of training and the attestation of knowledge have not been as crucial. Here the most visible changes have been the introduction of a two-stage attestation process, meaning the introduction of the bachelor's and the master's degrees along with the corresponding courses.

23


The control of the higher education institutions is based firmly on the principle of branch subordination. Each institution operates under the direct supervision of the ministry or of the department of which it is a part. All the institutes operate under the authority of eight ministries and departments, namely the Ministries of Education, of Public Instruction, of Health Services, of Agriculture, of Culture, of Railways, of the Committee for Physical Education and Sports of the Council of Ministers, and of the Central Council for Co-operative Societies. The Ministry of Education is also responsible for setting the general guidelines for the methods to be used in the training of specialists.

All the higher education institutions of the Republic have a similar organizational structure and management system. The immediate supervision of the work of an institution is exercised by its rector. The specific guidance of educational, scientific, and administrative activities is exercised by vice-rectors who are appointed by the respective ministers of the departments concerned from among the most highly qualified specialists.

The structures of higher education institutions may include branch campuses, faculties, departments, tutorial sections, research establishments, laboratories, libraries, clinics, dispensaries, sports and rest camps, experimental stations and plants, training workshops, computer centres, publishing and printing houses, etc.

Faculties and departments are the principal units of higher education institutions. The department is the principal educational and scientific unit which conducts teaching and research for the benefit of students. It also implements the training and the improvement of the skills of scientific and educational personnel. The faculty groups together the activities of departments in corresponding fields and supervises the training of students for specific professions.

The principal problems of an institution are considered by its council which is led by a rector's commission. Problems concerning a given facility are discussed by the relevant faculty council. In addition, higher education institutions include extracurricular organizations (students' scientific societies, etc.) that bring together students, postgraduates, members of the teaching staff, and other personnel.

This operational structure, which characterizes the whole of higher education, facilitates the successful execution of all tasks which individual higher education institutions are called upon to undertake.

24

Chapter 5

THE STEERING AND FINANCING OF

HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education in Belarus is publicly financed. The total amount of funding for the state higher education institutions is granted directly by the state according to the law on state budgets. The proportion of the state budget to be allocated to higher education can rise to ten percent of the national income. Education is free of charge in state education establishments (except for additional types of training, recurrent education, and extra or additional specialties).

Also, higher education establishments may support themselves from earnings derived from remunerated services, production and research activities, contractual sums gained for personnel training, contributions made by enterprises, and special funds and donations made by citizens.

Because of the financial difficulties faced currently by Belarussian education, some higher education institutions have introduced a system of partial or full tuition fee-supported education. Up until now, the number of students admitted to institutions on this basis has not exceeded five to seven percent of the total number of students. Nevertheless, this phenomenon has emerged in the financing of higher education, and there are no signs that institutions are eager to refuse to make use of it.

The steering of higher education institutions in Belarus is not simply a matter of the will of the Ministry of Education. Several specialized institutions which are subordinated to the respective Ministries and have their own departments of specialized education steer the day-to-day activities of the respective institutions.

Higher education development in the Republic is undergoing democratization. Student self-government is gaining momentum. Students make up a quarter of the membership of the Councils of higher education establishments (the supreme bodies of self-government).

25


1 Republic of Belarus (total)

Table 5. Departmental Subordination of Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Belarus (1993)

No. of No. of Distribution by form of institutions students higher education

full-time part-time part-time (evening) (corresp)

2 3 4 5 6 37 185,024 118,155 4,586 62,283

Subordination: Belarussian Union of Co- operative Societies Ministry of Culture Ministry of Health Ministry of Agriculture and Food Ministry of Education State Committee for Physical Education and Soorts

1 4,122 1,848 2,274 3 5,430 3,060 2,370 4 12,317 11,593 724 4 19,608 11,083 8,525 20 134,722 04,757 4,586 45,379

1 3.474 2.091 1.383 Ministry of Defense 1 2

L 2,529 I 2,529 1

Republic of Belarus llitotali

Ministry of Internal Affairs 1 2

Subordination: Belarussian Union of Co-operative Societies

2,822 I 1,194 I I 1,628

IlMinistrv of Health Ministry of Agriculture II and Food Ministry of Education State Committee for Physical Education ll and Swrts Ministry of Defense Ministry of Internal

I Distribution by form of rota1 hiaher education

34,981 I 23,978 I 767 I 10,236

L 1.655 I 1.619 I - I 36

3.731 I 2.379 I - I 1.352

Distribution by form of rota1 hiaher education

tion(1993)

32,683 120,378 I 970 I 11,335

”/”” 1.769 1 1.613 I - I 156

3,355 1,986 * 26

Chapter 6

PROBLEMS OF THE CONTENT AND

METHODOLOGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The educational system being called upon to conserve and to transmit traditions is also being asked to transmit social experience and knowledge. It must nevertheless respond to global changes, thus not only reflecting a changed world outlook and a new psychology but also the needs for new types of specialists.

The educational system is first of all concerned with the content of education. Content, given the ongoing changes in Belarus, refers not only to the structure and the forms of higher education but also to the fashioning of the new model of the specialist who is expected not only to be professional in a very strict branch of activity but to have creative abilities, a quick mind, great mobility, and a sense of, responsibility.

The elaboration of new approaches in both pedagogical and engineering education (in the light of contemporary demands) is confronted with two problems: how to prepare graduates for professional success in very specific spheres of activity while taking into account all the types of specialization required by the scientific-economic complex of the Republic, and, how to prepare graduates for rapid and unforeseen changes, including technological changes, through the addition of general scientific, theoretical, and cultural knowledge. Basic fundamental knowledge must be increasingly broad as well as reflecting general professional preparation (in order to ensure the best possible chances for professional mobility).

The development of new contents and new models for the preparation of specialists with higher education credentials is very closely linked to two other problems: 1) the training of specialists having new profiles, and 2) the transition to a multilevel system of education.

The first of the two problems is linked both to the marginalization of specialities and to their amalgamation to form new directions in specialist training. Such directions permit graduates to increase their possibilities for changes of profession and for retraining in the light of rapid technological change. Revising the structures of specialities also eliminates the deformations of the past (for example, the surplus of engineering staff members and the obvious lack of specialists in the humanities). And new specializations are being created which

27


are linked to such fields of activity as market relations, international activities, and management.

Order No. 183 of 17 June 1993 of the Ministry of Education confirmed the list of specialities to be offered in Belarussian higher education institutions as of the beginning of the 1994-1 995 academic year. The individual institutions have been directed to carefully define the specializations which they will offer and the qualifications required, to coordinate their proposals with the pilot-institutions, and to begin the development of syllabi, curricula, programmes, and other methodological documents for new specialities and specializations.

The total permitted number of new admissions to first year studies in higher education for the whole Republic in 1988 was 39,000. As of 1989, the number of new admissions began to decline. In 1992, 35,000 students and in 1993, 34,981 students were enrolled in the first year of studies in higher education institutions. These reductions resulted from changes in the volume of production, from the reduction of co-operation among the republics of the former USSR, and from the conversion of the military-industrial complex.

The numbers of students admitted to specialities in radio-technology, computer programming, transportation, cybernetics, and automatic systems have been decreasing. But at the same time, the number of new admissions to such specialities as commercial commodities and services, international economic relations, international relations, foreign languages, and Belarussian language and literature have increased. Such specialities as psychology, Chinese language, the equipment and technology of wear-resistant machines and apparatus, and biotechnical apparatus and systems were introduced as of 1993.

Regarding the second problem, the introduction of a multilevel system of higher education, the completion of the task will not only broaden the possibilities for European academic mobility, the comparability of diplomas, etc., but will facilitate the differentiation and individualization of training. Provisional regulations setting up programmes for bachelor's and master's degrees and their awarding have been elaborated.

A recent conference of administrators of university level pedagogical institutes was devoted to the problems and the peculiarities of the adaptation of pedagogical specialities to multilevel training programmes. Another such conference examined the problems of adapting engineering specialities to multi-level programmes.

In conformity with the decision, O n Measures for the Improvement of Training in the Humanities in Higher Education Establishments, of the Ministry of Education, a proposal was made to include humanities subjects in the training of all types of specialists. According to this proposal, humanities subjects would comprise twenty-five percent of the academic load of non-humanities specialities and no less than thirty-five percent of that of humanities specialities.

28

CONTENT AND METHODOLOGY

The humanities component of higher education programmes must be flexible and must be able to offer a variety of approaches depending on the needs of students, To fulfill this purpose, a variety of elective courses have been introduced into the educational process. In the future, after the standards of humanities education have been set, such elective courses could represent twenty to thirty per cent of the minimum time allotted to humanities disciplines. Among the new courses to be offered are Comparative Culture. Traditional courses which continue to be offered include Aesthetics, and the History and Theory of Religions and Freethinking. These courses are mandatory in the humanities faculties.

Currently, the research, technological, and innovative spheres of higher education are in a state of crisis. The growth of negative tendencies along with problems that have been inherited from the past have led to such irreversible phenomena as the loss of the results of research and investigations as well as the loss of concepts; the resignation of the most qualified and active staff members in higher education institutions who have entered other spheres of activity including commercial activities; a decrease in the numbers of secondary school leavers wishing to enroll in higher education and the number of higher education graduates wishing to enroll in post-graduate course programmes; and the lowering of the general level of R&D activities because of reduced financing. In the latter case, new equipment, instruments, and materials can no longer be acquired; scientific and technical ties with other countries can no longer be maintained; and Belarussian science is finding itself isolated from the main trends of science in the world.

29

Chapter 7

THE PROBLEM OF THE BELARUSSIFICATION OF

HIGHER EDUCATION

On 26 January 1990, the Law, On Languages in the Belarussian SSR, was adopted. According to this Law, and as of 1 September 1990, the state language of Belarus is Belarussian, the language of the indigenous population.

In prior years, the position of the Belarussian language was not even considered. This language was treated as if it did not exist. The policy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in favour of the merging of nations meant that in all state establishments, including those which were responsible for culture and public education, native languages and cultures were ignored in favour of Russian. Although a plebiscite held in the 1950s on the choice of language of instruction in the schools awarded top glace to the Belarussian language, the authorities disregarded this verdict. Thus, until the 1970s in the capital city of Minsk, only ten percent of school children were offered the chance to study Belarussian. At the end of the 1980s, less than twenty-one percent of the pupils in the Republic were studying in schools having Belarussian as a language of instruction. Most of the rest of them, seventy-eight percent, had Russian as the language of instruction. A few of them were able to attend bilingual schools. The schools which made exclusive use of the Belarussian language were considered to be rural schools. Their number was reduced from year to year.

Thus, renunciation of the native language, among other factors, contributed to what became the national nihilism of Belarussians. Contemporary youth is not only ignorant of the native language but also of the history of the Republic, its people, its traditions, and its customs. In 1989, sociologists at Belarussian State University proposed to poll students on the most important events, from their point of view, in Belarussian history. One third of those polled were unable to say anything intelligible about Belarussian history. The knowledge which others had was very sparse. They might know a bit about Soviet intellectuals of Belarussian extraction. What they knew most about was the BSSR XXVll Congress of the CPSU (April 1985), the Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the XIX All-Union Party Conference, etc.

To remedy this situation, the government of the Republic has elaborated a programme, Mother Tongue, which will greatly expand the sphere and the use of the Belarussian language through the broader study of Belarussian literature and a wider use of Belarussian as a language of instruction (See Table 6).

30

BELARUSSIFICATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Belarussian Russian Belarussian and Russian

Total

Table 6. Distribution of Higher Education Students by Language of Instruction in the Republic of Belarus

Language Numbers of students taught in the language 17,099 106,837 61,088

185,024

Estonian

Thus, the goal is to create a genuinely national educational system in Belarus, reflecting the interests, traditions, and culture, not only of the Belarussian indigenous population, but of other resident nationalities. Schools already exist in which Polish and Lithuanian are languages of instruction. This linguistic diversity assumes special relevance as inter-ethnic problems come to the fore in the Republics of the former USSR (See Table 7).

Attempts to resurrect the national language therefore run head-on into the question of what the language of instruction and of science should be. The transition from the use of Russian in higher education and science to Belarussian is proving to be very difficult. Nevertheless, the first results of the Belarussification process can already be seen. As of the 1993-1 994 academic year, universities and pedagogical institutions were required to teach the first year of their course programmes in Belarussian. But even here, the problem of scientific-methodological provision in the Belarussian language remains because of the lack of textbooks and methodical literature in this language. The Ministry and the administrators of higher education institutions are seeking a solution to this problem (one which will depend on how the solution can be financed).

-.

Table 7. Numbers of Students in Higher Education in the Republic of Belarus according to Ethnic Origin (1 992-1993 academic year)

- Total 185,024

Ethnic Origin Belarussian Russian Ukrainian Moldovan Kazakh Armenian Georgian Azerbaijani Uzbek Tajik Turkmeni

Lithuanian Latvian

KYrgYz

No. of students 178,082 3,631 1,916 121 91 55 138 117 92 35 82 27 420 156 61

31


In the higher education establishments of Belarus, effective measures are already being taken to broaden the use of Belarussian in the instructional process. Measures are being taken to develop crash courses for staff members in the language. The latter will be given a set period in which to pass a Belarussian language competency examination and to be certified to teach in Belarussian. In time, Belarussian will be the only official language used in higher education (for documentation, orders, announcements, etc.).

32

Chapter 8

THE INTEGRATION OF GENERAL SECONDARY

AND HIGHER EDUCATION

The integration of the fourteen lycea and the forty-one gymnasia (in 1993) is the problem which is being evoked by reference to the integration of general secondary and higher education.

A lyceum is a professionally oriented educational establishment providing general secondary education of any advanced level for senior students. The professional curriculum includes orientations and specialties similar to those in higher education institutions. The main goal of a lyceum is to prepare the most talented of young people to continue their education in higher education institutions. As a rule, a lyceum will be linked to a higher education institution, a research institution, a cultural centre, or even to a secondary school possessing appropriate personnel and educational and material facilities.

The first lyceum in Belarus was created at Belarussian State University. It is an independent educational institution which provides general secondary education with in-depth training in principal subjects. The institution offers two orientations: physics, mathematics, and philology. Admission to a lyceum is based on a competition and on the results of school leaving examinations, both of which are combined with university entrance examinations.

33

Chapter 9

HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Higher education in Belarus forms a highly developed research complex. In 1991, the higher education institutions subordinated to the Ministry of Education alone conducted 1,159 research and study projects, published 436 monographs and textbooks, and produced 900 inventions. A total of 326 doctoral and candidate of sciences theses were defended in the higher education establishments. Research- and-production co-operatives began to develop of which 107 are linked to higher education institutions.

All in all, in 1991 the Ministry of Education of Belarus was operating four research institutes, thirteen research sectors, three design bureaux, three computing centres, and fifty-three specialized laboratories in which more than 7,500 researchers were employed.

Research projects are conducted on direct contract with production enterprises. The total value of such research projects in 1991 accounted for 32 million rubles.

The higher education institutions are actively co-operating with the research institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus. Some twenty-six national complex research programmes are being jointly conducted with higher education institutions. In some cases the participation of higher education reaches eighty percent.

Higher education institutions are offering a wide range of higher degree courses including postgraduate, doctoral, and aspirant options. Some 1,500 postgraduate students and 1,200 aspirants are carrying out research for their candidate of sciences degrees in higher education institutions under the authority of the Ministry of Education. Some forty-one researchers are enrolled in advanced doctoral studies.

Students too are involved in research. In 1992, over 45,000 full-time undergraduate students took part in research. Student research takes place in the following ways:

- participation in traditional research and subject circles, study research projects, and student scientific conferences and exhibitions;

- participation in the work of research laboratories and youth technical design centres;

- participation in research and production groups (detachments) and in the applied research and development projects of departments;

34

HIGHER EDUCATION AND R E S E A R C H

- participation in the activities of university-wide and faculty-student

Thus, various types of possibilities exist for the continuous training of students in research techniques. Beginning with the first year of undergraduate studies, each student works within the research system on one problem under the guidance of a teacher. This effort gives rise in most cases to the writing of a student diploma paper which, in a sense, epitomizes the research potential accumulated by the student in the course of his or her studies. Students can only be awarded their higher education diplomas upon the successful defence of their diploma papers (in the case of those studying in polytechnic higher education institutions) or by passing their final examinations in humanities subjects (in the case of those specializing in humanities subjects).

The leading research oriented universities are the Belarussian (Minsk), Gomel, and Grodno State Universities, the Belarussian Polytechnic Academy, the Agricultural Academy, the Belarussian University of Economics, the Minsk University of Radio and Informatics, and the Medical Institute.

bureaux projects and in course and diploma projects.

Among the important projects in theoretical and applied research which are giving rise to important results, special mention should be made of those in the natural and the technical sciences. A number of investigations which have been undertaken by university researchers in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, biology, history, and linguistics have won wide recognition.

The important achievements which have been made through research in Belarussian higher education institutions have been favoured to a great extent by such organizational measures as careful planning, the setting up of interdepartmental and interinstitutional scientific associations, the concentration of efforts on specific target areas, the strengthening of material-technical bases, and the cementing of ties with industrial enterprises and research centres.

A good deal of educational research is currently being conducted in Belarus. The Belarussian Research Institute for Education was created in October 1990 by decision of the Ministry of Education to ensure reform, on a scientific basis, of the education system and the co-ordination of all research in the domain of education. In 1991 -1 993, the Institute undertook forty-seven research themes: twenty-five of them on the orders of the Ministry of Education: seven, on the orders of organizations and institutions; and fifteen, financed by the institute itself with special funding by the Ministry. Among the research themes explored and the results obtained, the following are to be mentioned:

- The principal functions of professional education in Belarus in market economy conditions (being the elaboration of a new concept of vocational training and the drafting of standardized provisions for vocational school-enterprise co-operation and standardized syllabi for vocational education).

35


- Scientific and methodical aspects of the informatization of education in Belarus (which involved the elaboration and the publication of the course, Principles of Information Science and Computing Facilities).

- Organizational and economic fundamentals of the productive and commercial activity of educational establishments (based on the elaboration of standardized and methodological documents about the creation and the organization of small enterprises attached to educational establishments).

- The education and the training of personnel with higher education qualifications in the Republic of Belarus in the new economic conditions (an all-around analysis of the status and prospects of the educational system is given through the year, 2010).

- Educational content and basic syllabi (elaboration of a pattern for syllabi in a secondary general education school as well as the laying down of concepts for the majority of subjects to be taught in primary school).

In addition, the Belarussian Research Institute for Education has drafted new concepts for national schooling and education in the Republic. It has made recommendations for the socialization of youth through the establishment of student self-government in schools as well as public organizations and independent amalgamations. It has made proposals to the Ministry of Education in favour of the organization of ecological and charitable activities for teenagers. It has also elaborated comparative analyses of the education systems of foreign countries and is involved in the UNESCO World Project of Associated Schools.

In 1992, the Institute published seven monographs, three textbooks, twelve training manuals, twenty brochures, seventy scholarly articles, and thirty methodical recommendations. The Institute publishes a monthly informational and scholarly journal, Education.

36

Chapter 10

Discipline group

Industry and construction Transportation Agriculture

Health care, physical education, and sports Economics

Education Arts, culture, and cinematography

ACCESS AND ADMISSION TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Percentage distribution

30.0 2.8 11.0 10.5 7.5 37.5 0.7

Access to higher education is competitive. Higher education establishments offer full-time, part-time (evening), and correspondence (extramural) courses. Residents of Belarus, citizens as well as non-citizens, and Belarussians who are not residents of Belarus have the right to receive tuition-fee higher education in state-supported higher education institutions in the Republic on the condition that they be first-time enrollees. Each year, every institution must submit a list of places available for the coming academic year (See Table 8).

Students willing to pay tuition fees may be admitted to higher education institutions in numbers exceeding the planned annual quota vacancies. The students concerned are those who did well on the entrance examinations but still ranked low in comparison with other candidates.

Citizens of other countries may be admitted to higher education institutions in Belarus on the basis of international agreements or on a tuition fee paying basis. Such enrollees will fill places in excess of those which were planned. The total number of such places in each institution will be set by the given institution.

Table 8. Distribution of Enrollments in Higher Education by Groups of Disciplines (1 993)

The basic requirement for admission to higher education in Belarus is successful completion of secondary education. No less than three months before annual admissions begin, higher education institutions must elaborate their own rules for admission, submit them for approval to the Ministry of Education, and then publish them. Also, three months in advance, a list of three to five entrance examinations and the ways in which they are to be conducted must be elaborated by each institution.

37


The examination in Belarussian language and literature is mandatory for persons whose secondary education certificates display grades earned in these subjects. Persons who have not learned the Belarussian language and studied Belarussian literature must pass an examination in Russian language and literature. Candidates may take the other parts of the entrance examination in either Belarussian or Russian.

All entrance examination programmes must be approved by the Ministry of Education and must correspond to the general secondary school curricula except in the case of examinations leading to specializations offered by institutions for education in the arts and in sports.*

Applicants must present the following documents: a standard written application addressed to the rector, the original secondary general education certificate, six photographs, and a medical certificate. Other documents certifying the personal inclinations, the talents as well as the abilities of an applicant can be attached.**

For full-time studies, applications are accepted from 27 June to 15 July of each year. The entrance examinations begin on or around 16 July; the enrollment of students, on 8 August.

The conditions to be met for taking examinations for enrolling in such specialties as the arts and the military sciences and in part-time and correspondence courses are determined by the individual institution.

Applicants who sign up for entrance examinations without valid reasons and those who earn unsatisfactory marks on the final tests are not permitted to continue the examination cycle.

The enrollment of students takes place on a competitive basis according to the total number of points earned on each part of the entrance examination. Individual competitions can be organized by specialties, by faculties, and by institutions. The way each competition takes place is determined by the given institution.

The individual higher education institutions also determine the rules for the admittance of honours secondary education graduates: graduates having won gold or silver medals; graduates of specialized secondary schools or of vocational schools whose diplomas have been awarded with distinction; winners of olympiads; and graduates of gymnasia, colleges, and higher technical schools.

Thus students are ensured the continuity of the educational process from secondary to tertiary education.

The whole admissions procedure is carried out by the admissions commission of each institution. The rector of the institution heads the commission. Such commissions include the vice-rectors, the deans of faculties, and representatives of the teaching staff.

38

ACCESS AND ADMISSION

Priority of access is awarded to certain categories of applicants who have nevertheless earned positive grades on the entrance examinations: soldiers who have served outside the former USSR; children of disabled or dead soldiers having served outside the former USSR; orphans; disabled persons in both of the above categories if, according to the conclusion of a medical commission, study is not contraindicated for them and they are able to attend classes; and finally persons who fall under the purview of Article 18 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus, On the Social Protection of the Citizens- Victims of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station (NPS) Disaster.

Candidates who pass examinations for studies in certain pedagogical specialties for special purposes, for instance, for the training of teachers for rural schools, compete for places separately from those who must compete in the general competition. In order to participate in such special competitions, candidates must receive assignments from the district administrations of education.

Applications for evening or extramural higher education programmes can be received from graduates of secondary specialized and vocational schools willing to enroll in all specialties which can be studied in such programmes. Applicants can include disabled persons for whom such studies are not contraindicated, soldiers who have been demobilized over the last three years, and persons who have been working in a given specialty for at least six months.

The remaining vacancies can be filled by other persons on the basis of agreements between given institutions and interested enterprises, establishments, collective farms, firms, co-operatives, and individuals on a fee paying basis.

If violations of the rules can be proven, the Ministry of Education is empowered to cancel the decisions made by the admission commissions to admit given students.

No age restrictions exist for those who apply for admission to any form of higher education.

39

Chapter 11

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

The development of higher education in Belarus has been marked by the constant expansion of the numbers of students and teaching staff members.

1 1 .l. Students

During the 1921 -1 941 period, student enrollments increased from 3,433 to 21,538, that is, more than six-fold. Student enrollments continued to expand during the post- war period, a development related to the rebuilding of the national economy along with the rapid growth of industry and of cultural activities. Student enrollment figures peaked in the mid-1 980's and then began to decline very slowly. At present, 185,024 students, including those in evening and correspondence courses, are enrolled in higher education institutions in Belarus (See Table 9). Most of them are graduates of the general secondary schools, but there are also a few from specialized secondary schools (See Table 10).

The rate of admission to branches of specialties has undergone change over the last ten years. Because of concurrent political and economic changes, certajn specialties, such as machine construction, electrotechnics, radiotechnics, and automatic systems and robotics, are more in demand now than they were in the past. This process has also been stimulated by the conversion of a number of military oriented industrial enterprises located in Belarus. At the same time, other specialties have become more in demand: all types of health care, ecology, physical education (as a consequence of the Chernobyl catastrophe), food technology, and management.

As a rule, students have free use of laboratories, libraries, computer centres, sports centres, and other facilities. Students play active roles in the social lives of their institutions, in the improvement of the teaching process, in the procedures for the granting of stipends and the assignment of dormitory accommodations, in student research societies and circles, and in sports groups and clubs.

Students enrolled in full-time degree courses are granted stipends the amounts of which depend on their scholastic progress. All students who earn satisfactory grades receive stipends. Brilliant students receive stipends which are twenty-five percent higher than normal. Students who are seconded by employing enterprises to higher education institutions receive stipends fifteen percent higher than those of ordinary students. Currently in the higher education enterprises of the Republic, 5,130 students are studying on a contractual basis entailing full payment for education and 8,411, entailing partial payment. In 1993, 1,925 students were enrolled on a full payment basis and 2,462, on a partial payment basis. Such students do not receive stipends from the institutions concerned (See Table 11).

40


Table 9. Total Numbers of Students Enrolled in Higher Education and Graduation Figures in Terms of Specialties (1993)

Total Natural sciences Humanities Physical, aesthetic, and labour education Health care Arts and culture Economics (general) Industrial economics Geology Raw materials Energy Metallurgy Machine construction Aviation engineering Vechicle engineering and tractors Machine construction Technological machines and equipment Electrotechnics Equipment construction Electronic technology Automatic systems and robotics Electronic instruments and automated systems engineering Radiotechnology Transportation Chemical technology Forest technology Food technology Peat technology Arhitecture and construction Gaodesy and maps Agriculture and forestry Military specialties

Total of the total number, students taking: - full-time courses -part-time evening courses - correspondence courses

lumbers of students at the beginning of le 1992-1 993 chool vear)

Total number Age 18 and % of the total Student of students below number

orphan S

185,024 23,968 13.0 455

118.115 22,326 18.9 452 4,586 326 17.1 1 62,283 1,316 2.1 2

185.024 16,945 30,197 24.829 12,317 5,478 14,311 7,294 220 153

2,333 41 0

6,927 56

2,693 168

2,672 26

1,371 1,906 4,377

4,558 5,862 1,499 1,876 901

2,953 2,915 9,658 290

17,562 2,567

Jumbers of tudents admitted i 1992

34.961 3,093 5,921 5,241 1,655 932

3,298 1,294 50 33 483 80

1,280

486 42 532 26 208 231 752

760 790 303 385 176 469 557

1,897 36

3,328 644

dumbers of lraduates I 1993

32,683 3,207 4,572 5,026 1,769 1,014 2.363 1,233 43 27 456 96

1,402 38 630 32 533

258 197 71 0

887 1,197 276 277 209 477 496

1,637 61

3,235 325


Table 11. Distribution of Full-Time Students in Higher Education according

equal to more the than the minimum minimum salary salary

4,748 23,277

to Size of Stipends and Group of Discidines (1993)

students, stipendiaries of enterprises on a contractual basis 8,459

~~

'OTAL ?y groups of disciplines: idustry :onstruction ransport igriculture !conomics iealth care ihysical education and sports !ducation

Of the total I Numbers of I Of the total: I number of salary

students granted

109,989

32,500 2,261 2,491 10,301 5,674 10,889 1,978 38,894

81,964

27,386 2,035

5,978 3,490 8,411 1,845 28,584

251

767 478

1,210 54

1,868

4,863 226

2,491 3,556 1,706 1,268

79 8,442

2,032 147

3,270 852 339 157

1,653

The institutions of higher education in Belarus attach importance to the material, environmental, and recreational side of student life. Students who come from rural areas are assigned to rooms in student residence halls (See Table 12). A great deal of work is being done to improve living conditions for such students, but the difficulties in constructing new residence halls, given the current economic situation, remain acute.

Table 12. Provision of Lodging in Residence Halls for Full-Time Students in Higher Education Institutions in Belarus (1993)

The Republic of Belarus (1993) by ministry and department: Belarussian Union of Co-operative Societies

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Health Care Ministry of Agriculture and Food Ministry of Education State Committee for Physical Education and Sports

Ministry of Defense Ministry of Internal Affairs

dumber of ,tudents needing esidence hall #pace (total)

73,650

1,149 1,780 7,680 10,019 47,897

1,449 2,529 1,147

dumber o itdents ictually lodgec I residena ialls

61,887

1,149 1,547 6,515 9,611 38,874

735 2,529 927

'ercentage of the total number 01 itudents requesting spaces in esidence halls who are iuccessful in obtaining a space

84.0

100.0 86.9 84.8 95.9 81.2

50.7 100.0 80.8

42


Institutions Total space Total space with their own in owned in rented and rented buildings buildings (in facilities for (thousands thousands studies and of sq.m) of sqm) laboratories

The Republic of Belarus 37 1,391 29 by ministries and departments: Belarussian Union of Co- operative Societies 1 25 3 Ministry of Culture 3 33 0.0 Ministry of Health Care 4 130 13

Ministry of Education 20 913 13 Ministry of Agriculture and Food 4 154

State Committee for Physical Education and Sports 1 36

Ministry of Defense 2 60 Ministry of Internal Affairs 2 40

Great attention is being paid to assuring a proper material infrastructure for students and academic staff members so that the normal training process can go on. A very important contemporary problem is that of the construction of new buildings for universities to alleviate the shortage of space for classrooms and laboratories (See Table 13).

Space per student (in sqm)

11.8

13.6 10.9 11.2 13.9 10.8

17.4 23.6 33.3

Table 13. Space Available in Buildings for Classrooms, Laboratories, and Other Learning Facilities in Full-Time Higher Education Institutions in Belarus (1993)

43


Table 14. Numbers of Higher Education Institutions and Students by Region in the Republic of Belarus (1993)

dumber of ndepende it state

The Republic of Belarus Regions: Brest Vitebsk Gomel Grodno Minsk City Mogilev

Number of independent departments

10,079 18,567 24,032 13,129 97,864 21,353

nstitutions

6,459 - 12,775 - 14,260 125 8,919 152 63,316 4,309 12,426 -

37

jtaff members vho have 1.5 and .25 of base salary

1,012

112 29 253 19 567

32

2 5 6 . 3 17 4

highe Professor

770

8 77 31 77

546 31

- 6

1 1 4

Number of students

iondence

2 5 5 2 13 4

3,620 5,792 9,647 4,058 30,239 8,927

11.2. Academic Staff

Some 15,701 basic academic staff members were employed in higher education in Belarus in 1993. More than half of them held the academic degrees of candidate or of doctor of sciences and the rank of docent or of professor (See Table 15).

Table 15. Numbers, Categories, and Distribution of Academic Staff in Higher Education in the Republic of Belarus (1993)

In this group: Basic staff with full r ar I

Republic of

Regions:

Grodno Minsk City Mogilev 1,610

:andidate of ciences

7,561

359 800

672 532

4,524 674

ivited xturers

1.488

58 148 193 54 985 50

44

rank )ocent

5,358

135 529 507 29 1

3,440

456


Institutions of higher education in Belarus have the following system of ranked academic posts: head of department (chairman), professor, visiting professor, docent (assistant professor), senior lecturer, lecturer, and assistant lecturer. Vacancies are filled for five-year terms on the basis of competitions.

Institutions provide support to staff members who are actively engaged in research and are working for academic degrees. These measures of support include one-year postgraduate courses and paid leaves of absence. Those engaged in research, in addition to their teaching duties, are provided with research and other facilities and work under the supervision of senior staff members.

The best students, those having a very strong capacity for research and teaching, are recommended for enrollment in postgraduate courses (aspirantura). Such courses are offered by the majority of institutions in the Republic and are responsible for the training of candidates.

Over 800 postgraduate students complete these courses each year. Postgraduate courses are offered as full- or part-time programmes, which terminate in the defence of a thesis (dissertation) for the degree of candidate of sciences (PhD).

Highly qualified senior academic staff members, holders of the doctor of sciences degree, are also sought by universities. To promote the training of D.Sc.'s, institutions can grant candidates of sciences, who have made considerable headway in theoretical or applied research, three-year leaves of absence to enable them to prepare doctor of sciences dissertations.

The existing system of degrees, which reflects the qualifications of researchers, is supplemented by a system of teaching ranks including that of professor and that of docent (assistant professor). The latter bear witness to the merits of the incumbents as teachers and as researchers.

45

Chapter 12

STAFF DEVELOPMENT, UPGRADING,

AND RETRAINING

Higher education plays a leading role in the provision of continuing education.

In recent years, a system of continuing education was created in Belarus to provide for the upgrading, proceeding from science and practice, of the professional skills of specialists in all the spheres of the economy. The system consists of a broad network of upgrading and retraining courses based on branch and interbranch principles. The network includes a large and disparate number of institutions: fifteen institutes and their subdivisions; fifteen faculties; and eighty autonomous courses run by ministries, enterprises, boards, etc., providing both full-time and part-time courses.

The duration of courses is from one to six months. Upgrading courses offered by faculties may run for over a year. Specialists taking upgrading and retraining courses continue to receive their median salaries. Admission is by arrangement with enterprises and organizations. Seven upgrading institutions which were under the authority of the ministries and the administrations of the former USSR were transferred to the authority of the Belarussian government. Recently, a network of co-operatives, small enterprises, and other commercial organizations offering personnel training (around one-hundred of them existed in 1992) began to develop.

Yearly, more than 100,000 managers and specialists are trained in the Republic. As of 1991, educational establishments have been offering courses in market economy conditions. About 10,000 specialists have completed such courses.

Specialists who are enrolled in upgrading courses study the latest achievements and possibilities in their professional areas and replan their theoretical and practical knowledge; master effective methods of management, new technologies, and advanced methods of labour organization and administration; and also exchange experiences. The various departments engage leading researchers and teachers in higher education establishments as well as scholars and senior managers from other organizations. On completing their courses of study, trainees defend their end- of-course papers which are, as a rule, geared towards the improvement of production processes in which they are closely involved.

46

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Ministries, boards, enterprises, and organizations draw up long-term plans for the upgrading of their staffs, taking account of job categories and proceeding according to the norm of one period of study leave every five years.

The upgrading and retraining system in Belarus makes use of the following: - self-education through individual programmes; - attendance at standing seminars on economic problems and problems of

production, usually on a monthly basis; - short, three-week courses involving on-the-job training or training in

upgrading and retraining educational establishments; - long courses on a 5-yearly basis taken in upgrading and retraining

education establishments; - study visits to successful enterprises and to leading research and

educational establishments; - retraining in academies, upgrading institutes, and in special faculties and

departments of higher and specialized education institutions. The general direction of the upgrading and retraining system is the responsibility

of the Ministry of Education. The latter determines the main directions of the development of the system coordinating the activities of educational establishments and supervising the content and quality of training. During the 1987-1 992 period, the Ministry of Education organized fourteen upgrading and retraining educational institutions for specialists in such areas as state-of-the-art equipment and technology, foreign trade, etc.

The leading centre for upgrading in Belarus is the lnterbranch Institute for the Upgrading of Senior Administrators and Specialists in the National Economy which annually enrolls over 8,000 administrators and specialists.

The Republican Institute of Advanced Medical Studies which provides upgrading for medical personnel is a modern training and research organization in the field of medicine which works in close co-operation with medical higher education institutions, hospitals, clinics, and research organizations. Certain vocational medical schools are responsible for the retraining of paramedical personnel.

Considerable attention is also paid to the systematic raising of the qualifications of teachers in the general secondary schools. They receive regular training at the Republican and the Minsk City Institute and in six regional institutes for the upgrading of teachers. These institutes also have special methodology departments which conduct experimental work. In July 1992, the Republican Institute of Advanced Studies for Teachers was turned into the Institute for the Upgrading and Retraining of Administrators and Specialists of Education. The latter became the chief educational establishment of this type in Belarus for teaching personnel.

47


Upgrading courses are available for higher and secondary specialized school teachers and for specialists in culture, agriculture, and other spheres.

Special attention is paid to the systematic upgrading of the qualifications of academics because their expertise and pedagogical skills are a decisive factor in the further development of higher education and in the training of specialists.

Academics are offered the following forms of further training: - courses at teacher training institutes and departments; - internships in the principal institutes of the Republic, the Academy of

Sciences, research institutes attached to ministries and departments, and at major enterprises at home and abroad;

- research appointments for the preparation of doctoral dissertations (theses) ;

- special periods of leave for the preparation of candidate of sciences or of doctor of sciences dissertations (theses);

- correspondence courses. In Belarus there is also an institute for the upgrading of teachers of the social

sciences and two departments which cater to teachers of general (fundamental) and special subjects. Annually, about twenty percent of the higher education faculty enroll in some form of upgrading with nearly half of them taking courses at upgrading institutes and departments, including leading higher education institutions and research institutes outside the Republic.

To meet the specific needs of industry, curricula and syllabi are developed in co- operation with the relevant ministries, enterprises, and organizations. Scientific and technological progress is creating a demand for the speedy retraining of specialists to staff newly emerging industries. Such retraining is made available at special faculties in which the students are higher education graduates with practical experience in the chosen field.

Special faculties have been created at the largest higher education institutions in the Republic. They offer retraining courses in ecology and in the effective use of natural resources, in applied mathematics, in powder metallurgy, in robotics, in microprocessor systems, and in other new fields. The training process in such faculties is organized in co-operation with the departments and the research institutes of the leading higher education institutions in Belarus. The same faculties may also use the technical facilities of industrial enterprises and organizations, research-and-production associations, and the Belarus Academy of Sciences.

Upgrading courses for mid-level personnel are offered by special divisions of specialized schools. They are set up in such domains as industrial robotics, computers, instruments and devices, and the production of electronic equipment. To respond to industrial demand, higher education institutions have come up with courses which cover the cutting-edges of given aspects of science and research.

48

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Managers and specialists are retrained according to the branch principle. The employment-of-the-population programme of the Republic of Belarus developed a scheme in 1992 to provide professional training and retraining for laid-off workers and other unemployed people. The scheme was planned to accommodate 51,000 people every year including 7,000, in Brest Province; 7,000, in Vitebsk Province; 5,500, in Gomel Province; 7,000, in Grodno Province; 7,000, in Minsk Province; 6,500, in Mogilev Province; and 11,000 in the City of Minsk. The Ministry of Education selected 21 3 educational establishments throughout the Republic which collectively will meet the needs for the training and the retraining of workers and specialists.

Efforts are being made to extend the list of specialties and professions for persons needing retraining.

The educational research provision of the retraining process is executed with due regard for modern requirements. The personnel retraining programmes now include more than thirty orientations for managers of economic activities. These include the legislative and economic fundamentals of the theory and practice of market relations, management and marketing, effective methods of management in new conditions, electronic systems and information science, computers, accounting and financial activity, entrepreneurship, and practical psychology.

The aim of postgraduate retraining is to ensure the preparation of personnel for anticipated changes in their professional activities. Thus, it is urgent that the postgraduate education of the following categories of personnel be organized:

- government administrators and specialists having executive authority at all levels;

- entrepreneurs in all spheres of activity irrespective of the type of property involved ;

- high- and mid-level managers of enterprises and organizations; - teachers; - political activists and figures at all levels

The development of postgraduate retraining for other categories of the population should aim at finding solutions to problems arising from the transition to market economy conditions and at the training of specialists of a new type.

The problem of financing such upgrading and retraining programmes is crucial. It is first of all a question of the choice of a place for retraining given that contacts and contracts with institutions of the former USSR have been cut forcing Belarus to seek solutions to these problems from inside its borders. Then too, many higher education institutions have introduced the system of retraining and upgrading of specialists from outside on a self-financing basis or on the principle of reciprocal bilateral exchanges. Such difficulties have limited the choice and the range of possibilities for the upgrading and the retraining of specialists.

49

Chapter 13

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION

Currently, the Belarussian system of non-formal education consists of Palaces and Houses of Youth, 199 Houses of Culture and of Technical Pursuits, 40 organizations for Young Technicians, 37 organizations for Naturalists, 489 centres of various sorts, including sports schools, and 17 parks, clubs, etc. All of the above are non-formal educational institutions having cultural, technical, natural, and other orientations including orientations related to aesthetics and to sports. They have been created by state authorities, enterprises, and organizations; by social associations; and by individual citizens; in addition to the possibilities provided by the formal educational institutions themselves to form and to fully meet the all-around personal needs of teenagers and adults for education and for spiritual and physical development, including the organization of their free time and of their rest periods. Non-formal education institutions are both supported by the state or are self-supporting. Their activities are coordinated by the education authorities.

A wide range of circles and clubs exists to cover a whole gamut of socio- political, aesthetic, and technical interests including nature studies, local history and geography, tourism, and sports, permitting citizens to expand their knowledge and to try their hands at various pursuits.

Today, there are 5,390 extramural educational establishments accommodating 220,000 teenagers and adults of all ages. Among these establishments are 303 libraries and 477 music, arts, and dance schools for children.

At present, qualitative changes are taking place in extramural education. Methods of work are being changed so that the work of schools, youth associations, trade union clubs, etc., will better correspond to individual interests. The major fgrms of extra-curricular activities include' clubs, amateur associations, as well' as participation in mass events such as contests, competitions, concerts, exhibitions, etc. By participation in such activities, students acquire useful skills and habits as well as self-confidence. Over seventy percent of students choose their future professions as a result of their extramural pursuits.

A leading role in extramural education is played by the Palaces and Houses of Youth. These organizations undertake and accomplish almost all the major functions of non-formal education. A wide range of clubs run by them attracts large numbers of teenagers and university students. These make a considerable contribution to the promotion of amateur arts. Much attention is focussed on the international and the patriotic upbringing of students. Many higher education institutions have international friendship clubs. Students enter into correspondence with their foreign counterparts,

50

N O N - F O R M A L EDUCATION

hold festivals and fora, and take part in the traditional peace and green movements. Certain extramural establishments are members of the Belarussian Association of UNESCO Clubs.

The latter was created in 1990 as a social movement supporting the realization of UNESCO ideals in the Republic. It covers all six provinces of Belarus and is composed of thirty-two clubs and two regional centres. About 10,000 persons are associated with them. Most of them are university level students.

The Belarussian Peace Fund, the Belarussian Research Institute for Education, the Republican Society of Book Lovers, the Republican Association of Theatre Collectives, the Republican Palace of Youth, and other non-formal and public organizations are members of the Belarussian Association of UNESCO Clubs. The priority orientations of its activities include: the Project of Associated Schools of UNESCO (ASPRO), Environmental Education and other educational projects, participation in the World UNESCO - Chernobyl Programme, and in LINGUAPAX (languages of the world).

The cultural life of students is diverse at all levels. Institutions offer various artistic options: choral singing, dance and drama, orchestra, painting, etc. Many of the student amateur art associations have been designated as People's Collectives.

An important type of participation in socially useful labour that has developed in higher education is the constitution of student construction teams. Annually, nearly 30,000 students come together to participate in agricultural projects, the construction of housing and production facilities, as well as dwelling and livestock complexes.

51

Chapter 14

CONTINUING EDUCATION

A salient feature of the contemporary development of education in the Republic of Belarus is its emphasis on continuing education. This emphasis reflects the growing role of education in society and the concurrent need for profound changes in the system whereby not only are its spiritual and intellectual spheres consistently upgraded but also the level of education of the population and its active involvement in socio-economic processes.

The concept of continuing education as evolved has now been implemented. It is at the base of the development of an educational service which, in addition to providing people with free access to education at all levels, includes options whereby individuals may constantly acquire education from lower to advanced levels with due account of their individuality, their aptitudes, and their interests. The offerings which reflect personal and public demand inculcate a spirit of self-development and the desire to expand their intellectual potential.

This concept is buttressed by the following principles which underline not only the system of continuing education but also individual educational establishments with regard to the following:

the content and methods of teaching, the constant studying of the personal traits of the students to ascertain the abilities and the attitudes of individuals in order to provide them with adequate guidance with regard to future educational options and careers, the creation of the requisite conditions for promoting interest in obtaining the best education possible; the differentiation of the teaching process with regard to the abilities of students; the creation of incentives for achieving new levels of education, even through self-education; variation in educational forms; the close interaction between formal education and industry; and extracurricular non-formal forms of education and upbringing (palaces and houses of culture, libraries, exhibitions, museums, clubs, etc). The dominant thrust of the educational effort should be the promotion of interest in and the search for knowledge and intellectual self-perfection.

The ways in which the different levels of continuing education are integrated are portrayed by the diagram given below.

The new concepts of public education which are based on the promotion of principles of democratization, independence, and creativity open up vistas for ensuring continuing education.

52


Diagram 2. The System of Continuing Education in Belarus

Primary

Postgraduate qualifications, upgrading, and

retraining

professional and vocational further training

and retraining

education

While still in school, each pupil is supposed to be approached in a way which best stimulates his or her abilities and forms his or her personality. Thus, differentiated education is being promoted via specialized classes in schools featuring the in-depth theoretical and practical study of certain subjects and of cycles of disciplines (the natural sciences, the humanities, aesthetics, etc.). In fact, this approach is the paramount orientation, the bedrock for the provision of continuing education. Currently, nearly half the classes in Belarus are being run on the principle of differentiated education.

Another way to promote continuity in the education system while it is developing lies in the integration of educational stages and the development of flexible integrated systems.

From this point of view, the educational system is a continuous educational complex which includes all forms of education (see Diagram 1, p. 14). But this complex has three main concentrations: the state education establishments and two additional concentrations, the state-supported non-formal forms of education and

53


upbringing (centres, palaces, clubs, etc.), and the non-state educational. establishments (public, co-operative, private).

The concentration representing state-supported formal education includes all the existing standard educational establishments from pre-school institutions to higher education institutions as well as gymnasia, @ea, higher polytechnic schools, and colleges. Its kernel is primary and elementary school (9 years of mandatory schooling) and junior secondary schooling (11 to 12 years of schooling leading to general secondary education). This schooling opens the way to any type of professional school. Gymnasia and lycea are variations of the above and offer advanced, specialized levels of education which prepare their graduates for higher education in close co-operation with the respective institutions.

The highest stage of the educational pyramid is represented by varieties of educational establishments offering vocational, secondary, specialized, and higher education, as well as upgrading courses (in vocational schools, higher polytechnic schools, secondary specialized school, colleges, and higher education institutions).

The diagram illustrates the fact that education establishments of a new type are linking the components of different educational levels. Thus, the lycea and the gymnasia form an integrated whole with general secondary and higher education, higher polytechnical, vocational, and secondary specialized schools, colleges, and secondary and specialized higher education. This arrangement eliminates educational gaps and deadlock situations while ensuring continuous and high quality education.

Mention should be made of the fact that in the logic of continuing education, including such fundamental principles as discreteness, succession, and integration, the differentiation of the structure of higher education, meaning the high visibility given to its higher stages, is deemed expedient.

The first stage ensures that general specialized higher education will impart the necessary specialized knowledge of appropriate spheres of production and socio- cultural affairs while remaining unspecialized. The first stage would include such subjects as mechanical engineering, construction, sociology, and similar subjects. The training involved corroborates the fact that the largest number of specialists destined for employment in production need this form of training. The period of training required is approximately four years. Once trainees have mastered the knowledge required by the programme, they will earn the baccalaureate degree. Such education is provided by colleges.

The second stage, which is a development of the first, is directed at imparting specialized higher education, that is, in- depth specialized training in a relevant sphere. The specialists concerned are trained primarily in research, design, and technological organization. At the end of the programme, the students must complete serious research projects in order to obtain the degree of magister. The period of study is about six years. Special higher education programmes may be

54


offered by institutes, universities, academies, and higher colleges which integrate secondary specialized and higher education. The idea of the differentiation of higher education (indeed of education as a whole) meets life requirements, creates the conditions for continuing education, and satisfies varying educational needs.

On the strength of a broad differentiation followed by integration, radically new formations may be created: education complexes (school-kindergarten, vocational school-high school, secondary school-higher school) and other possibilities. The existence of various forms of educational sponsorship: state sponsorship as well as non-state sponsorship, enriches and broadens educational space, generates possibilities for a wide personal choice, fits in better with the international characteristics of education, and thus makes the best use of the input.

The concept of continuing education not only presupposes mergers within the educational service, but also with institutions on the outside - above all those in the sphere of production.

At the level of higher education, such continuing education is realized through teaching-research-production amalgamations which are set up on the basis of contracts among educational establishments, enterprises, and organizations, The purpose of amalgamations is to improve professional education and the efficiency of research and production. Successful examples of amalgamations are those of the Minsk Tractor Works with the Belarussian Polytechnic Academy, the Minsk Heavy Trucks Factory with the Belarussian Polytechnic Academy, the Belarussian State University with the Integral Production Association, and the association of the Minsk University of Radio and Communication with the Computer Engineering Association and the Research Institute of Computer Engineering.

These amalgamations carry out their activities on a planned footing that covers teaching, research, and production through the joint efforts of teachers, researchers, and practising specialists in an effort to solve common problems.

The concept of continuing education as a pivotal element in the education policy of Belarus is steadily gaining momentum. It is being realized in a diversity of forms and structures.

55

Chapter 15

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION

Section VI (Co-operation and International Relations in the Republic of Belarus in the Spheres of Education, Art. 38-41) of the Law on Education sets the basis for the increased development of mutually beneficial contacts, indeed partnerships, with foreign countries.

The Republic of Belarus ensures the fulfillment of all obligations undertaken within the framework of international agreements (the setting of requirements to meet educational standards as a basis for the mutual recognition of educational documents, contributions to the development of the relations of educational institutions, the training of specialists, and the conducting of research, etc.); the drafting of educational documents so that they conform to internationally recognized standards; the priority of international deeds and agreements with regard to Belarussian legislation; and the foreign trade activity of education establishments.

The main aspects of international co-operation in education of the Belarussian

- the study and the implementation of foreign experience, information, and research results in the field of education and science;

- the organization of the training, the retraining, and the upgrading of Belarussian students, postgraduates, researchers, and teachers;

- the use of international co-operation and the division of labour to conduct joint research in leading domains of scientific and technological progress, education, and upbringing;

- the promotion of co-operation to ensure the cultural and external economic interests of the educational service;

- the dissemination of fair and objective information about Belarus, particularly information about its new economic and political course;

- the rendering of assistance to other countries in the training of their specialists and in developing their educational services.

Such forms of educational, research, and cultural relations, as exchanges of researchers and teachers, participation in international congresses, symposia, conferences, language courses, research and study visits, and exchanges of students and pupils on the basis of financial reciprocity are especially productive.

In 1991, the higher education institutions of Belarus maintained international relations on the basis of 117 contracts and agreements relating to inter-higher

education services are the following:

56

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION

education institutional co-operation. They took part in the realization of 183 research themes with ninety higher education institutions from twenty-five countries. During the 1990-1 991 academic year, more than 300 Belarussian researchers participated in international scientific conferences, and 2,900 specialists and 4,200 students went abroad for studies.

The Associated Schools Project of UNESCO (ASPRO) is being actively developed in Belarus. Having emerged in 1966 and being aimed at providing education in the spirit of peace and mutual understanding, it currently includes eleven schools (including five general secondary schools, three vocational schools, two higher specialized secondary schools, one scientific and research institute, and one centre for information science). Very recently, three new schools joined the system, and in addition, eighteen schools co-operate with ASPRO including five which are situated on territory contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster. There is close co-operation between the Education Sector of UNESCO in Paris and the Belarussian educational authorities.

In 1990-1 991, exchanges of teachers and students from ten countries, including 600 ASPRO representatives and 430 foreign participants, took place in Belarus. The second Subregional Conference of Associated Schools of Central and Eastern Europe (including the states of the former USSR) was held in Minsk in December 1990. It was attended by seventy-nine representatives and national coordinators of ASPRO from Germany, Poland, Norway, Bulgaria, and Switzerland and representative of the Education Sector of UNESCO. During the last two years, ASPRO representatives have held international seminars on education for the peaceful solution of conflicts. Psychologists from Ulster hosted by the Minsk State Institute for Foreign Languages have participated in these seminars.

The training of foreign specialists in the higher education institutions of Belarus began in 1960. Foreign students are admitted to all the major educational institutions, including the universities and the pedagogical, medical, technical, and technological institutes. At present, there are over 4,000 students from eighty-nine foreign countries.

Foreign students enroll in course programmes according to the arrangements which have been made by their home countries. They are currently being trained in sixty specialties. As a rule, foreign students take the same classes and enroll in the same programmes as Belarussian students. Special preparatory faculties have been set up by the higher education institutions to offer foreign preparatory students courses in the Russian and the Belarussian languages and in the natural sciences. Higher education establishments also offer special courses in certain subjects to reflect the specifics of the future professional careers of foreign students on their return to their home countries.

The foreign graduates of the higher education institutions of Belarus frequently have successful professional careers, some of them holding posts of responsibility in government, science, education, culture, industry, and agriculture. The Belarussian

57


higher education institutions maintain contacts with their alumni, offering them consulting services, establishing contacts for them, and organizing workshops.

As a member of the United Nations Organization and of UNESCO, Belarus is increasing the scope of its international co-operation through these organizations, regarding them as one of the most important factors in the restructuring of education.

During 1992-1993, the Republic of Belarus played host to 1,562 teachers and postgraduate students and to 4,300 higher education students and vocational and secondary school pupils. The practice of sending university entrants abroad for full- time study during parts of their common programmes is widely developed. Some 237 university entrants and more advanced students in higher education have been sent to Poland. Some 55 students have been sent to the United States, to Germany, and to Liechtenstein. The Agreement on co-operation between the Ministry of National Education of Poland and the Ministry of Education of Belarus for 1992-1 993 was signed on 5 March 1992 in Warsaw. It ensures a new qualitative level of co- operation in the field of education.

Belarus participates actively in the major events and programmes organized by the international community and supports and develops initiatives and diverse forms of co-operation in education and science. One of the most important programmes today is the UNESCO-Chernobyl programme.

Belarus initiated and sponsored such majqr events as the International Exhibition of Personal Computers, an International Symposium on Informatics (INFO-90), and an International Informatics Student Olympiad (1 990). Contacts with leading Western centres of education and research are being expanded with a view to increasing exchanges in the field of higher, vocational, and general education.

In May, 1991, the first European Regional School Meeting on Magnetic Liquids and Powders - New Technological Materials, sponsored by the Belarussian State Polytechnic Academy under the auspices of UNESCO and the Council of Europe, took place in Minsk. Some one-hundred specialists from eighteen countries participated in the conference at the end of which six agreements for joint investigations and studies were concluded.

The experience gained so far by Belarus with regard to international activities gives every reason to conclude that the importance of international co-operation in education is on the rise.

58

BONDARENKO, E. S. Development of Education: 1990-1992. National Report of the Republic of Belarus. Minsk, 1993.

BONDARENKO, E. S., V. T. VODNEV, and A. P. KANDIBO. Higher Education in the Byelorussian SSR. Bucharest: CEPES, 1983.

Education 1-5 (1 992).

Education in the Belarussian SSR: Results and Perspectives. Minsk, 1991

ENACTMENT OF THE BOARD OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. O n the Concept of Language Education in Secondary Educational Establishments of the Republic 86 (5 December 1990).

Final Report of the International Conference, Education for All. Bangkok: UNESCO, 5 March 1990.

Final Report of the World Conference on Education, 43rd session. Geneva: UNESCO, 3-8 September, 1990.

Law of the Republic of Belarus, O n Social Protection of Citizens who Suffered as a Result of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station Disaster. Minsk (5 August 1991), N.634-X.

Law on Education of the Republic of Belarus, Adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus on 29 October 1991, N. 1202-Xll.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. O n Humanistic Social and Political Education in Higher Education Establishments in the Republic. Minsk, 12 July 1990, No.78.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. About S o m e Results of Work of the Four-Year Primary Schools. Minsk, 20 October 1990, No. 269.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. Temporary Provisions for Specialized General Education Boarding Schools of the BSSR for Mentally and Physically Handicapped Children, Minsk, 13 December 1990, N 263.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. Temporary Provisions about Secondary Education School in Belarus. Minsk, 30 May 1991, N 4.MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. About Competition for the Creation of a Belarussian National Primer. Minsk: State Committee for Publishing of the Republic of Belarus, 31 December 1991, N 548.

59


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. Collected Standard Documents, Minsk, 1992, NN 1 - 12, 1990, NN 1-4.

Programme for the Course, Radiation Safefy for Grades I-IX of the General Education Schools and Vocational Schools. Order of the Ministry of Education of 31 October 1990. No. 22-034 N 694.

Report of the National Co-ordinator of the Associated Schools of UNESCO (ASPRO) Project of the Republic of Belarus Project about Activity within the Confines of the Project for 1990-1992. Minsk, 1992.

Reports on Administration of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus. Minsk, 1990 and 1991.

60

ANNEXES

Annex 1. State Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Belarus - -

- 1

- 2

- 3 Belarussian

State University of Economics

4 Belarussian State University of Technology

__.

itle of institution lo. of taff

1,485 elarussian tate University

Faculties

biology, physics geography, chemistry, mechanics- mathematics, history, radio- physics and electronics, journalism, philology, philosophy and economics, law, applied mathematics an' informatics

'elarussian late Polytechni( cademy

1,752

738

450

- ~ _.

motor vehicles and tractors, machine building. mechanics and technology, energy, robots and robotic systems, instrurnent- making, construction, road- construction, energy construction, architecture management, international economic relations, financ and economics, banking, accounting, and economics, accounting and statistics. commerce forestry, technology and techniques of tt timber industry, the technology , organic matter, chemical tech-nolgy. and

- - ear of und- 9 1921 -

.~

1920

1933

1930

ddress

20080 Minsk r. Francisk ,katyna, 4

20027 Minsk r Francisk ,karyna, 65

20072 Minsk 1r.Partizansky 6

'20630 Minsk 11. Sverdlova. 3

'elephone

207-538 265-940

:ax: 265-940

324-055 327-752

:ax: 252-193 324-142

494-032 495-106

-ax 495-106 492-427

260-278 261 -432

-ax 261-075 260-278

61

3. of udents

14.860

16,073

- 10,818

4,350

. . ~-

Fubordi- ation

- iducation c le Republil I f Belarus

. . .. . . ...

. . . . . . - -.

.... _.___


3,200

3,706

6,987

3.020

7,000

techniques

300 technical . .--. -.. .- electronics, construction, water supply and amelioration

technology, economics and technology, design and technology

philology, mathematics, biology, economics, physics, geology and geography

construction, automatic and electromechanic al technology

philology and culture, history, law, mathematics, physics, engineering, biology, pedagogical and methodology of primary education, physical ,education

31 1 mechanics and -----".----

497 history and law, -----"-----

--.__ _--_ - 288 machine

600 Belarussian

6,500

3,518

2,713

~-

62

900 design and -----"-----

technology, automatization and management, radiotechnics and electronics, computer technology, electric communication

construction, automechanics, electnc technology, construction

mechanics and technology

367 machine _.._. .____

245 technology, -----"-----

- - - -

ANNEXES

329

496

460

653

580

436

olotsk State niversity

foreign I an g u a g e s , finance and economics, machine construction, radio-technics, lechnology, construction, geodesy, sanitary engineering physical education, philology, pedagogy, pre- school education, history, physics and mathematics, natural science philology, Belarussian language and literature, mathematics anc physics, biology. art and graphics, primary school education, pre- school education, physical education mathematics, physics, natural science, history, Belarussian philology and culture, Russian philology, pre- school education, primary school education, music education, education of the handicapped English, French, German, Spanish, Interpretation philology, biology, physics and mathematics, history, primary school education, pre- school education, physical education

rest edagogical istitute

itebsk edagogical istitute

elarussian edagogical lniversity

linsk University f Linguistics

logilev 'edagogical istitute

- 1974

- 1950

- 1918

- 1922

1948

- 1930

11400 ovopolotsk,

I. Blohina, 29

24665 Brest. j.Cosmonauls. 1

10036 itebsk. pr. loskovsky, 33

20809 linsk, I. Sovetskaya, 8

20034 Minsk. I. Zaharova, 1

12028 Aogilev, 11. Cawnonauta

520-1 2 523-83

ax 542-63

301-41 333-44

ax 309-96

541 -05 502-93

264-020 264-023

ax 264-024

330-544 332-033

'ax 369-504

263-1 17 263-108

63

3,051

6,218

6,000

- 13,000

3,500

5,300


19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Mozyr Pedagogical Institute

Belarussian Academy of Agriculture

Belarussian University of Agronomy and Technoloqy Belarussian University of Transport

Belarussian Academy of Music

Belarussian Academy of the Arts Belarussian Academy of Physical Education and sports Vitebsk Institute of Veterinary Medicine

Vitebsk Medical Institute

Gomel Cooperalive Institute

~

300

670

413

310

200

132

300

260

370

167

mathematics and -..--"---.. physics, philology, engineering education, general technical melhods and physics, primary education, labour service agronomy, zoo- Ministry of technics, Agriculture mechanization of of the agriculture, Republic of amelioration and Belarus water supply, land surveying, economics, accounting mechanization of -----"-----

agriculture, electrification

management of Ministry of rail freight Railways transportation, electrotechnics, mechanics, construction, industrial and civil engineering piano, Ministry of composition and Culture musicology, vocal and choral music, folk music instruments, orchestra theater, arts, arts Ministry of and design Culture

coaching, health The improvement Committee and care, for Physical

Education physical education and Sports zoology and The Ministq

medicine Agriculture

pharmacy, Ministry of therapeutic and Health prophylactic medicine _____ commerce, The Centra accounting and Union of CI finance, operative economics and Societies management

veterinary of

5,307

6.800

3,800

3,600

1944

1940

1954

1953

900

637

4,500

4,000

2,990

1,563

247760 Mozyr 21 5-85

uI Studenches- Fax 254-26 kaya. 28

Gomel district, 213-93

213410 Gorky 215-45 Mogilev district 228-49

Fax 215-87

220608 Minsk, 646-1 19 pr Francisk 644-771 Skaryna, 99 Fax 644-1 16

246653 525-713 Gomel, 520-941 uI Kirova, 34 Fax 554-196

1932

1945

1937

1924

1934

1980

64

220030 Minsk, 274-942 ul. Internatsio- 261-996 nalnaya, 30 Fax: 209-125

220600 Minsk, 321-542

Skaryna. 81 Fax: 322-041 220600 Minsk, 506-343 pr. Masherova 506-008 105 Fax: 508-088

pr. Francisc 320-363

210619 372-044 Vitebsk. 372-224 al. I Dovatora, Fax: 370-284 711 1 210602 4 17-65 Vitebsk. 410-63 pr. Frunze, 27

246069 481 -707 Gomel, 480-558 pr- Oktyabrya, Fax: 478.068 52a

~.

ANNEXES

2,697 365

2,500 170

4,000 376

5.500 665

1,024 282

Institute Grodno, 332-661

of Agriculture Grodno, uI 471 -497

therapy and Ministry of prophylactic Health medicine, psychology, nursery training agronomy, zoo- Ministry of engineering, Agriculture plant protection

comparative Ministry of culture, library Culture and information systems, artistic education therapy and Ministry of prophylactic Health dentistry, medicine and prophylactic therapy therapy and prophylactic medicine

University of ul. Rabkorov- 254-982 Culture

I3

Institute pr. Dzerzhin- 726-1 96

Gomel Medical 1934 246000 531 -062 Institute Gomel, 534-121

ul. Lange, 5 Fax: 539-831

Ministry of t Health

N.B. In the Republic of Belarus, there are also 4 military higher education institutions.

65

Annex 2. Private Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Belarus

Title of institution Address Name of the manager

1

- 2

No of students admitted1 total

13311133 1

i9815a8

Artur I.

Stepan F. Jurisprudence

166 “ A

Telephone number

385-441 462-223

484-397 472-91 3

3 Humanities University of Minsk, Anatoly A. Europe Skaryna pr., 66, Michailow

morn 408

12511 70

4 The Institute of Minsk, Valery I. Kozhar

5 The Institute of Minsk, Awa-Kk M.

Management and Business Gamarnik St., 10

Contemporary Knowledge Zacharov St., 59 Shyrokov

6 Commercial Institute of Minsk, Sergei S. Business Lenin St., 22 Ataev

394-1 63

5231883 612-190

365-91 6

3581600 321 -234

7 International Institute of Valery M. Labour and Social Kazintsa St., 21, Tychyno Relations

786-132

8

- 9

Zhirovichi Sovetskaya

The University of Kudasova

IO Academy of Commerce Mogilev, IK. Liebknecht St., 7 FEv

2281228 363-671

18611 86 220-593 252-1 19 252-01 9

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