MINSK, 15 January (BelTA) – It is important to improve school and university programs, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said when he approved the appointment of Mikhail Lustenkov as the rector of the Belarusian-Russian University on 15 January, BelTA has learned.
“It is important to breathe new life into school and university programs. Eighth-grade and ninth-grade students now study what we studied at the university level. Has the life become so fast? Will all of them become mathematicians? Therefore, we should pay serious attention to education. If the minister did not understand that, he is not a minister,” Alexander Lukashenko warned.
The head of state asked about educational processes at the Belarusian-Russian University, the number of students and the peculiarities of educational programs. According to Mikhail Lustenkov, there are more than 4,800 Belarusian students and about 430 Russian students at the university. “The majority of them receive bachelor's degrees. Master's programs have been introduced recently, six for full-time students and six for part-time students,” he said.
The president asked about the differences in bachelor's and master's programs in Belarus and Russia. Mikhail Lustenkov explained that in Russia a bachelor's degree is views as the first stage of higher education, and a master's degree is the second stage. In his opinion, this approach is not rational because more time is spent in education of a specialist. “The first stage lasts four years. In fact, the level of education in these bachelor's programs are at the level of vocational schools,” he added. “We have a more optimal system. For example, at our university master's programs are used to train top-qualification specialists.”
Alexander Lukashenko approved this approach and stressed that this approach to master's programs should be used in all Belarusian universities. “Make sure that we do not adopt these practices like those in Russia. Russians do not know what to do with them,” he said. “Master's programs should be only used to train scientists and teachers. Do not use them everywhere.”
According to the head of state, young people often decide to get a master's degree without a good reason and waste their time. “Special programs are needed there, we scrutinize them. I was informed that students of some universities spend a year to review old materials. This is an in-depth review at best. We don't need it. Every university should have a special program for the training of high-quality specialists who will work in science and education.
