Lukashenko said that people must be convinced of the fairness of the admission campaign
The system for conducting the admission campaign in universities and exams in schools must convince people of its fairness. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, while listening to a report on the admission campaign, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
Vice Prime Minister Natalia Petkevich, who heads the state commission for monitoring the preparation and conduct of the admission campaign, the first deputy head of the President's Administration Vladimir Pertzov, Minister of Education Andrei Ivanets, and Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov came to the President for the report. Each of them presented information to the head of state regarding their area.
"About the essence of our conversation. The nuances are certainly important, so we will touch on the nuances of our admission campaign. But the most important thing is that our conversation should demonstrate to people, to the population, that we are keeping the process of organizing entrance exams to universities and exams for completing secondary and basic levels of education in view at the highest level. That is, schools and universities. Especially admission to universities. We know very well what significance this event has in a responsible family. We have gone through this ourselves. It is very important to ensure a system that would convince our people of the fairness of this campaign," said Alexander Lukashenko.
"I have no doubt that it will be fair. Although it has never been unfair," the President added.
"It has never been," confirmed Vasily Gerasimov.
"Parents and applicants just need to understand that everything will be fair. There is no need to resort to any tricks. You must come to the exam room with your knowledge. Knowledge plus luck - and you will study at the university. At least, if some accident happens, we, Natalia Vladimirovna, will think about how to avoid these accidents. And if something happens, we must see that too - to look at those people who may turn to us for us to take another look at their knowledge. Surely, we will lose someone somewhere. But we must not lose. We must not offend families in this situation and, most importantly, the young person who is embarking on a normal life path," the head of state demanded.
Alexander Lukashenko inquired about how the centralized exam went and whether this innovation justified itself. "If it justified itself, then how? Just honestly. If there were mistakes somewhere, we need to correct this situation. Under no circumstances should it be retouched, because this is a very serious matter," he emphasized.
As reported to the President, the admission campaign this year has not undergone significant changes and is proceeding according to the established algorithm. "But there is, albeit a small (one and a half to two percent), shortfall in budget places. We must take measures to ensure these places are filled. We are preparing specialists who are very much needed for the national economy at the expense of the budget. How is the Ministry of Education and the government working in this direction? What has been done and what needs to be done?" the head of state asked.
The President reminded of his demand to ensure the transparency of the admission campaign. According to him, it is important not to lose the opportunity to see each applicant.
"We talk a lot about this. All this is good - centralized exams, testing, and so on. But we remember the process of taking exams ourselves and positively evaluate when the teacher and the applicant sit opposite each other and the teacher sees this applicant. Is everything done for this transparency? This is the main element of fairness," the Belarusian leader stated.
Alexander Lukashenko also inquired about what benefits are provided to applicants and how objective this process is. "I know you. You, sitting at this table, are not only educated people but also excellent students. And you can all evaluate from your position: here are the knowledge, knowledge, if you don't know - get out, and so on and so forth. But in the end, you remember that when we graduated from universities, those who were weak, based on these criteria, turned out to be stronger than those excellent students who passed the exams. Therefore, I would like to hear your assessment here," the head of state said.
The President noted the positive experience in popularizing vocational and technical education among young people. Applicants are eager to enroll in colleges, and enrollments there are increasing.
"This is good, it cannot but please. What additional measures need to be taken to encourage people to pursue vocational and technical education? Perhaps some measures need to be taken at my level as well?" Alexander Lukashenko clarified.
According to the information presented to the head of state, this year it is planned to admit 28,000 people to vocational and technical education, which is 1,200 more than in 2024.