MINSK, 31 January (BelTA) – The educational process at universities, and above all at the Academy of Public Administration, should be as practical and pertinent as possible, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his conversation with scientists on 31 January, BelTA has learned.
Responding to the speech of Director of the Institute of Civil Service of the Academy of Public Administration under the Aegis of the President of Belarus Leonid Maltsev, the head of state drew attention to his extensive managerial experience at various law enforcement agencies. Leonid Maltsev was Defense Minister and State Secretary of the Security Council. Other universities also have highly-qualified specialists with experience of working in civil service. This unique experience should be passed on to teachers, as well as to students and listeners of the Academy of Public Administration.
“The academy should become a leading educational institution. Not because it is under the aegis of the president. But because soon these ‘academicians’ will run the country. This is cream of the crop, and some of them are undergoing retraining there,” the head of state remarked.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that some of the teachers, both young and those who have been working at the educational institution for a long time, ‘have become somewhat detached from reality’. “Your task is to bring them down to this sinful earth. As you have said, we need to make our education and our science practical and relevant. I count on specialists like you. I earnestly ask you to gather reasonable people around you who will bring to senses all those who, as you have rightly said, like to bring someone else’s experience to Belarus,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“This is not our way. Our decisions were grounded in reality, we did what people needed. We gradually rose to the top and built something that people like. The recent election demonstrated this. Maybe someone does not like it. But people like it. We do this for people. And we must retain it. The role of scientists should be incredibly high, I mean scientists of all fields: from historians, political scientists to scientists involved in agriculture,” the head of state emphasized.
The president specified that fundamental science will keep playing an important role and will not be sidelined, but only relevant fields of fundamental science will be supported.
There is no need for Belarus to heavily invest in fundamental scientific research across a wide range of areas, as was done before, for example, in the Soviet Union. “We used to bankroll it no matter whether it made sense. We thought it would come in handy. Indeed, knowledge will always be useful. But we do not have that much money now, and there is no need for this research today,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. In order to move forward and develop, the country needs to focus on those areas where it has already accumulated good experience and competencies, the president is convinced.
This is exactly the case with mechanical engineering, for example. Belarus has long had strong scientific competencies in this area, there are industrial enterprises with extensive experience of putting new solutions into practice. Now the production of electric transport is in demand. According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, this is what both scientists and practitioners need to prioritize. “We should focus on what the country and our people really need,” the president said.
The head of state told everyone to take things up a notch. “We can do everything; laziness is ruining us, we are lazy,” he noted. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the importance of import substitution: “Let's do it on our own. Unfortunately, I have to push our specialists very hard in this direction. Sometimes, as you say, using dictatorial methods. But what can I do? We must survive, we must persevere,” said the president.
Responding to the speech of Director of the Institute of Civil Service of the Academy of Public Administration under the Aegis of the President of Belarus Leonid Maltsev, the head of state drew attention to his extensive managerial experience at various law enforcement agencies. Leonid Maltsev was Defense Minister and State Secretary of the Security Council. Other universities also have highly-qualified specialists with experience of working in civil service. This unique experience should be passed on to teachers, as well as to students and listeners of the Academy of Public Administration.
“The academy should become a leading educational institution. Not because it is under the aegis of the president. But because soon these ‘academicians’ will run the country. This is cream of the crop, and some of them are undergoing retraining there,” the head of state remarked.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that some of the teachers, both young and those who have been working at the educational institution for a long time, ‘have become somewhat detached from reality’. “Your task is to bring them down to this sinful earth. As you have said, we need to make our education and our science practical and relevant. I count on specialists like you. I earnestly ask you to gather reasonable people around you who will bring to senses all those who, as you have rightly said, like to bring someone else’s experience to Belarus,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“This is not our way. Our decisions were grounded in reality, we did what people needed. We gradually rose to the top and built something that people like. The recent election demonstrated this. Maybe someone does not like it. But people like it. We do this for people. And we must retain it. The role of scientists should be incredibly high, I mean scientists of all fields: from historians, political scientists to scientists involved in agriculture,” the head of state emphasized.
The president specified that fundamental science will keep playing an important role and will not be sidelined, but only relevant fields of fundamental science will be supported.
There is no need for Belarus to heavily invest in fundamental scientific research across a wide range of areas, as was done before, for example, in the Soviet Union. “We used to bankroll it no matter whether it made sense. We thought it would come in handy. Indeed, knowledge will always be useful. But we do not have that much money now, and there is no need for this research today,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. In order to move forward and develop, the country needs to focus on those areas where it has already accumulated good experience and competencies, the president is convinced.
This is exactly the case with mechanical engineering, for example. Belarus has long had strong scientific competencies in this area, there are industrial enterprises with extensive experience of putting new solutions into practice. Now the production of electric transport is in demand. According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, this is what both scientists and practitioners need to prioritize. “We should focus on what the country and our people really need,” the president said.
The head of state told everyone to take things up a notch. “We can do everything; laziness is ruining us, we are lazy,” he noted. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the importance of import substitution: “Let's do it on our own. Unfortunately, I have to push our specialists very hard in this direction. Sometimes, as you say, using dictatorial methods. But what can I do? We must survive, we must persevere,” said the president.
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