MOLODECHNO, 12 March (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has promised to help with the revision of the terms of the employer-sponsored education program for medical students as he talked with the staff of the Molodechno Central District Hospital, BelTA has learned.
One of the questions was about the employer-sponsored education program. Now it applies to doctors who will be sent to work in rural areas and small settlements with a population under 20,000. Aleksandr Lukashenko agreed that there is no need to put limits to the program and that it needs to cater to the needs of other towns.
"We will do it. I know the problem. It is not the first time that it has been raised," the president said.
The head of state recalled that the decision to roll out the employer-sponsored program for small settlements aimed to address a serious problem of personnel shortage. “That was why we gave it a try. But the approach is wrong. We see it now. Why do we restrict it to towns of 20,000. Why places with 70,000-100,000 and more are off limits? We need to approach this problem more specifically. For example, Molodechno needs three doctors, so the city authorities, on your proposal, will make a decision to enroll them into such program (public organizations will be involved in this process too). You pick them up, and you bear responsibility for them. The employer-sponsored program should enroll those you see worthy, those who will become good doctors," the Belarusian leader stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that the employer-sponsored program should not be limited to small towns and villages. "Maybe Minsk needs this program too. Sponsored students are obliged to take up a job in the institution that has placed them into this program," he said.
The president also said that issues of higher education will soon be revised at the level of the head of state soon: "We will analyze things. It's not just about medical training. We will look at employer-sponsored education in all areas. And I am not a supporter of limiting it to professions and specialties"
"We will soon return to centralized testing issues, which I have talked about a lot. Proposals have already been made. We will also look into employer-sponsored education," the head of state added.
