MINSK, 21 September (BelTA) – The secondary school certification system and the system of admission to higher education institutions will continue operating without substantial changes. Belarusian students will have to take two centralized exams and one centralized test. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during the government conference held on 21 September to discuss ways to improve the education system, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I think that today the government in the person of the prime minister and the deputy prime minister heard the issues that need to be addressed. We’ve come up with answers to the main problems, including the stability of the entire education process. We shouldn’t make radical policy changes year after year.”
The president said: “As for secondary school certification and admission to higher education institutions. Two centralized exams and one centralized test. We will stick to it for now and will inform the public so that people would know that we will follow down this path in the future. It is important for people.”
At the same time the president did not rule any additional experiments inside the current university admission system. For instance, preliminary interviews or an internal exam in individual higher education institutions.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “They have to be beneficial. Make sure there are no contradictions between exams and the interview. If a person passes all the exams with good marks and fails your interview… You have to approach it very carefully.”
Justification of the centralized exam
During the government conference Head of the Education Department of the Zhlobin District Executive Committee Aleksandr Solovyov talked about results of certification of secondary school students. This year’s school leavers had to take centralized exams for the first time. “Today I can say with confidence that the centralized exam has vindicated itself. It enjoys support and should be used in the future. Arguments in favor of it are obvious for us. A unified form of organization of school graduation exams and university admission exams encourages teachers and students to train together. The workload of students has been reduced. It is also worth noting that school leavers are more mindful about the choice of their future profession instead of compiling a list of certificates, which scores allow them to enter some university,” he said.
Aleksandr Solovyov assured that the exams had proceeded smoothly. In his words, the tests themselves already contain a large number of problems that need a solution instead of a lucky guess. The approach convinced school leavers that they can get results only by studying seriously.
The official went on saying: “I’d like to note that there were no questions of the fifth level of difficulty in tests this year. However, the school program contains such tasks. Children are familiar with it. This is why we believe it is possible to add tasks of the fifth level of difficulty to the test.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked the speaker directly: “Do you think that this system is what we need today? Two centralized exams and one centralized test. And that we should follow down this path?”
The official noted in response that there were some worries when the system was suggested. But all the fears and trepidation went away when the rehearsal centralized exam was held. The current approach guarantees equal opportunities and an independent evaluation of the knowledge level for the kids. Fifty top school students of Zhlobin District confirmed their high scores as a result of the centralized exam. Aleksandr Solovyov said: “I saw that my pedagogues give them the marks they deserve and the students confirm their ability. I was very glad because of it. This system gave me feedback and allowed me to analyze performance of my subordinates. This is why the system works. It has truly shown its effectiveness.”
Discussion about an internal exam in higher education institutions
Another participant of the conference, Rector of Brest State Technical University Sergei Kasperovich put forward proposals on improving university admission rules.
In his words, the new university admission procedure works well. For instance, Brest State Technical University has hit all the admission campaign targets. Competition for free education seats was close to two people per seat. “We took in top school leavers, winners of academic excellence competitions, contract students. The results are truly obvious. We have definitely expanded the window of opportunity for our prospective students, gifted and well-trained young people and simultaneously for future employers.”
Nevertheless, Sergei Kasperovich could not say with confidence that all the tasks had been accomplished although it is obvious that fair selection, equal rights and opportunities for prospective students have been fully ensured.
One of the rector’s proposals suggested more actively using internal exams as part of the university admission process. Such exams are already arranged for some specializations. Sergei Kasperovich surmised it will be possible to gradually switch to a common model and organize one comprehensive exam instead of centralized testing. “You have to come into a university and demonstrate yourself, your knowledge instead of only documents and papers,” the rector believes. “It will be applied to those, who fail to pass along scaled trajectories for gifted, well-trained, and motivated people. We are going to increase contract-based education. We see the interest of future employers. Contract-based education will be based on the internal exam.”
Rector of Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, chairman of the council of rectors Vadim Bogush also expressed his opinion about the suggested innovations. He stressed that the university admission rules, which were approved last year, have demonstrated their worth in practice. They strike the necessary balance between regions, guarantee an open, transparent, and fair selection system. “In our opinion, it is an optimal system. The rules, which have been approved, should be left alone for 4-5 years. I will support the opinion of the State Control Committee that it is quite a risky step to switch to university admission exams on a massive scale. And I suggest developing the existing model in a slightly different direction. We should follow the way of internal exams in the specializations, in the professions that require it. We have this experience now. For instance, journalism, philology,” he said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that he sees no special contradictions in the opinions of both rectors. The first one offered a glance at the distant perspective while the second one believes it should be left alone for now. The president remarked that nevertheless, if necessary, the admission system will be improved in the future. He said he inclines towards the principle suggested by the Brest State Technical University rector. “But I am not pushing for the variant that I like because all of you [other rectors, government officials in charge of education] like different things. You are close to it. Suit yourself. And I see that it may be simply an additional step towards the model you’ve mentioned,” the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said he is in favor of higher education institutions bearing the responsibility for the quality of training of specialists. They need to see qualities of the person as early as the admission procedure. “How can you let them enroll if you don’t see their capabilities? But you believe that two centralized exams plus one centralized test [should be left] for now and we should follow down this path next year or maybe for another two to three years. I don’t see any particular contradiction in that either,” the president said.
