Belarusian universities enhance competitiveness

The Education Ministry of Belarus believes that any pursuit of high places in international rankings and dumping approaches to exports of educational services will not result in the increase of domestic education competitiveness globally. Belarusian universities should rather work in those markets where the knowledge gained in Belarus carries authority, while marketing costs are not excessive.

The Head of the Main Department of Vocational Education at the Ministry of Education, Sergei Kasperovich, is convinced: a reasonable balance of interests is now registered in the field of higher education in Belarus. “Exports of educational services, despite their importance, are not the most important indicator. Nevertheless, for several years, we have seen a steady increase in the number of foreign citizens who receive higher education in our country. There are about 27,000 of them now, including those who attend preparatory faculties of universities,” he explains.

Medical specialties are popular among foreigners. Students from abroad are also interested in technical, pedagogical, humanitarian and IT spheres. Actually, young people mostly come from the former Soviet republics, South‑East Asia and China. They appreciate not only reasonable educational costs but the quality of Belarusian educational services.

According to Mr. Kasperovich, Belarus is currently implementing a range of measures aimed at developing the material and technical base of universities, while work is underway to improve teachers’ qualification. The state is also investing into development of students’ academic mobility, organisation of internships for lecturers and invitation of leading specialists from abroad... Unsurprisingly, Belarusian universities are increasingly showing good results in international rankings. This means that domestic education is moving along the right path.