By Aleś Hudzija
Belarusian higher schools are going through hard times. Strategies chosen by officials can only make things worse.
In 2023, strikes swept across European countries, and included kindergarten and teaching staff who demanded manageable workloads, social security and higher wages. The strikes were largely successful.
Whereas in the EU countries education problems are addressed based on signals coming from grassroots, in Belarus it is the other way around. Challenges are identified by top-level bureaucrats who send instructions down the command chain.
On February 13, at a conference with rectors, Alaksandar Łukašenka singled out five issues:
– A gap between supply and demand on the labor market
– University graduates emigrating abroad
– Young people reluctant to go into science and teaching
– Need to purge schools of disloyal teachers who stood up against regime in 2020
– Poor ideological and moral-building work with young people
On the surface, the goals were clear and the tasks were defined. However, the Soviet-coined phrases, such as “remorseless inquest for performance,” “thinking in a state-like manner” and “we have preserved the best Soviet traditions” gives rise to strong doubts. The Soviet imperatives are unlikely to take education out of the crisis, just because they are responsible for it in the first place.
There are many challenges at universities, but the five issues listed above contradict one another in many aspects. Some items are root causes, while the others are, in fact, an attempt to solve problems.
Minsk takes pride in preserving the education system built upon Soviet traditions, building new facilities and expanding the range of training aides and making higher education accessible. But data points to the opposite. For example, the number of students has shrunk both in absolute and relative terms.
University students in Belarus
Thousands
Per 10,000 people
Łukašenka’s claim that the government “saved every penny, invested a lot of money in the sphere” is also questionable. Higher education spending has accounted for less than 4 percent of the total budget expenditures, and its share has declined since 2011.
Thus, universities are clearly not a priority.
Share of education expenditures in the national budget
Education, percent; Higher education, percent
It is important to note that before 2020 many programs were funded by foreign donors, including from countries that Minsk has now declared unfriendly.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided €100 million to improve the educational environment and adjust higher education to the labor market, as well as help Belarus join the Bologna process, improve academic mobility and promote student exchanges.
These initiatives are impossible under the current repressive government.
Afraid of innovation, the Belarusian government clings to outdated practices. The gap has widened between old management methods and modern teaching requirements of the market.
Bureaucrats’ inability to take a flexible approach in understanding higher school objectives is to blame for a shortage of personnel. The number of PhD and MD holders is rapidly decreasing in education and science.
However, it does not mean that “young people are reluctant to go into science and teaching.” Bright minds are looking to fulfill potential in democratic countries in Europe, America or Asia.
Minsk boasts of education services exports as proof of high quality. Indeed, while more Belarusians are choosing European or even Russian universities, Belarusian higher schools enrolled more foreign students before 2021.
Foreign students and undergraduates studying at universities in Belarus
From left to right: Total, China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Sri-Lanka, Russia, India, Lebanon, Israel, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Congo and Kazakhstan
Source: State Statistics Committee (Biełstat)
Most foreign students come from China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and Russia.
Enrollment decreased in the last couple of years. Fewer Turkmen students joined in the 2022/2023 academic year. Fewer students come from China, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran and Kazakhstan.
The Belarusian higher education system is losing its appeal not only among Belarusians, but among foreigners. The selection of loyal teachers and indoctrination are unlikely to change the situation for better. However, this is exactly what the high command sees as a remedy.