MINSK, 30 May (BelTA) – People should have no reason to question the integrity of university admissions and school exams, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he was receiving a report on the university admissions process, BelTA has learned.
“Parents and applicants just need to know that everything will be fair. There is no need to resort to tricks. The only thing that you need to bring to the examination room is your knowledge. Knowledge plus good luck - and you are a student. And if some incident occurs, we, Natalya Vladimirovna, will think how to prevent this from happening again. And if something happens, we should not brush it off – we should have a look at those people who might approach us with a request to reassess their knowledge. We will almost certainly overlook some talent. But we should not. We should not do wrong to families and, most importantly, to young people who strive to live a normal life,” the head of state demanded.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked how the centralized testing went and whether this form of testing is good enough. “If it is good, then in what way? Tell me frankly. If we have made a mistake, we should correct it. In no case should we paper it over, because this is a very serious matter,” he emphasized.
The president was told that no significant changes were introduced to the admissions system this year. The admissions process is proceeding according to the established algorithm. “Yet, there is a small (1.5% to 2%) under-enrollment for government-sponsored courses. We must take action to eliminate under-enrollment. After all, we pay money to train specialists that the domestic economy badly needs. What are the Education Ministry and the government doing about it? What have they already done and what needs to be done?” the head of state asked.
The president recalled his demand to ensure transparency of the admissions process. According to him, it is important to thoroughly process every application.
“We talk about this a lot. Centralized testing is a good thing. But we remember the time when we had to take exams in person, when a teacher and an applicant sat opposite each other and the teacher saw the applicant; it was a good practice. Has everything been done to guarantee transparency? This is key to ensuring integrity of the process,” the Belarusian leader said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about special admissions and the fairness of this process. “I know you. You are not only educated people, you were also excellent students. And you have been through this and know the principle: if your academic level is poor, you will be rejected. When we graduated from universities, those who performed poorly at the beginning ended up outperforming ‘A’ students who had aced entrance exams. Therefore, I would like to hear your perspective on that,” the head of state said.
The president acknowledged progress to promote vocational training among young people. Applicants are eager to enroll at vocational schools, and these enrollments are on the up.
“This is good, nice to hear that. What additional measures still need to be taken to encourage young people to go to technical colleges? Maybe some measures should be taken at my level too?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.
According to the data presented to the head of state, this year 28,000 people are to be enrolled at vocational schools, which is 1,200 more than in 2024.
Attending the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Natalya Petkevich who heads the state commission in charge of university and college admissions in 2025, First Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Pertsov, Education Minister Andrei Ivanets and Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov. Each of them presented reports on the issues within their purview to the head of state.
“Regarding the purpose of our conversation. Details are important, therefore we will also discuss them. Yet, the most important thing is to send a signal to people that we are keeping tabs on the organization and conduct of university admissions tests and graduation exams at high schools and junior high schools. Especially university admissions. We know very well how important this is for a responsible family. We have been through this ourselves. It is very important to have a system that would convince the public of the integrity of the admissions process,” the head of state said.
“Regarding the purpose of our conversation. Details are important, therefore we will also discuss them. Yet, the most important thing is to send a signal to people that we are keeping tabs on the organization and conduct of university admissions tests and graduation exams at high schools and junior high schools. Especially university admissions. We know very well how important this is for a responsible family. We have been through this ourselves. It is very important to have a system that would convince the public of the integrity of the admissions process,” the head of state said.
“I have no doubt that it will be fair. Although it was not unfair,” the president added.
“It was not,” Vasily Gerasimov confirmed.
“It was not,” Vasily Gerasimov confirmed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked how the centralized testing went and whether this form of testing is good enough. “If it is good, then in what way? Tell me frankly. If we have made a mistake, we should correct it. In no case should we paper it over, because this is a very serious matter,” he emphasized.
The president was told that no significant changes were introduced to the admissions system this year. The admissions process is proceeding according to the established algorithm. “Yet, there is a small (1.5% to 2%) under-enrollment for government-sponsored courses. We must take action to eliminate under-enrollment. After all, we pay money to train specialists that the domestic economy badly needs. What are the Education Ministry and the government doing about it? What have they already done and what needs to be done?” the head of state asked.
The president recalled his demand to ensure transparency of the admissions process. According to him, it is important to thoroughly process every application.
“We talk about this a lot. Centralized testing is a good thing. But we remember the time when we had to take exams in person, when a teacher and an applicant sat opposite each other and the teacher saw the applicant; it was a good practice. Has everything been done to guarantee transparency? This is key to ensuring integrity of the process,” the Belarusian leader said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about special admissions and the fairness of this process. “I know you. You are not only educated people, you were also excellent students. And you have been through this and know the principle: if your academic level is poor, you will be rejected. When we graduated from universities, those who performed poorly at the beginning ended up outperforming ‘A’ students who had aced entrance exams. Therefore, I would like to hear your perspective on that,” the head of state said.
The president acknowledged progress to promote vocational training among young people. Applicants are eager to enroll at vocational schools, and these enrollments are on the up.
“This is good, nice to hear that. What additional measures still need to be taken to encourage young people to go to technical colleges? Maybe some measures should be taken at my level too?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.
According to the data presented to the head of state, this year 28,000 people are to be enrolled at vocational schools, which is 1,200 more than in 2024.
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