There will be no country without educated youth!

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, took part in the Nationwide Conference on Teaching held on August 27th

The event gathered over 2,500 attendees, predominantly comprising representatives from delegations across Belarus’ regions and the city of Minsk, including heads of higher education institutions. Also present were leaders of public administration bodies and national public associations, members of the public, and parliamentarians.

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Following a report by Education Minister Andrei Ivanets on the current state and development prospects of the national education system, the Head of State asked what problems remained in the field of education and whether schools had truly become places of reverence in the minds of students.
According to Andrei Ivanets, one of the key tasks is to cultivate genuine citizens and patriots at all levels of education. The second important task is to restore the prestige of the teaching profession. While efforts are being made in this regard, the minister emphasised the need to revive the sacred significance of the teaching profession — the respect and status it once held in society. Third, it is crucial to recognise that young people are not merely a labour resource but rather human capital. Therefore, the learning process should not be viewed solely through the prism of training narrow specialists for specific industries or enterprises, but as a preparation for the country’s future development as a whole.  
Regarding the attitude towards the school, the minister noted that considerable results had been achieved in recent years, with discipline and order being maintained at a good and high level.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the teaching conference should not be a perfunctory bureaucratic event. After all, if problems are not identified and tackled, they will persist.
The President outlined several points of concern that were not covered in the minister’s report. Thus, there has been a shortage of enrollees at universities this year, particularly in agricultural specialities, with engineering and technical specialities taking the second place.  
Another aspect is labour education. The minister reported that initiatives had been undertaken in this area, and many schools had their plots of land. However, Aleksandr Lukashenko revealed that not all schools had implemented this practice. 

“Believe me, this is a very serious question. I see the dynamics. It is true that we have reached unprecedented heights; no one could have imagined 20 years ago that we would be able to reach these heights. However, if we fail to notice the emergence of long-term problems, we will sink into the same abyss we faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” the Head of State urged. “There is no need to obscure, lie or embellish the reality. There has never been such complexity around Belarus as we observe now. Therefore, we must ensure that our country stands its ground — since we all want to be sovereign and independent — and we should jointly think how to do that and be ready for it. Everything starts with us, teachers.”  

The President reminded that as soon as restrictive measures had been introduced against Belarus, he immediately demanded that the Government forget about the sanctions and focus on economic development. In those conditions, it was necessary not only to produce, but also to sell products abroad. For countries with export-oriented economies, this situation is a big challenge. However, the authorities have coped with it, and ordinary Belarusians did not feel the large-scale sanctions pressure, as Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out.
“We are getting all kinds of advice from the outside now. They are throwing in ideas and urging us to back down and turn our back on Russia. They encourage me to stand with Ukraine and fight against Russia, while NATO troops will be deployed near Smolensk [Russian city]. This is how far it gets. I am getting proposals from all sides today, and 99 percent of them are unacceptable for us. This is why I want you to understand in what situation we live. That is all I can tell you, and I just cannot tell you as much today. All other questions are for me to deal with. Do your job, and I will do my job together with my colleagues in the Government and senior officials,” the Head of State underscored.
Heads of educational institutions of various levels — from the gymnasium in Borisov District, Minsk State College of Innovative Construction Technologies, Gomel and Grodno State Universities — spoke at the teaching conference. They talked about improving the quality of education, developing the system of training workers and specialists, the interaction between universities and personnel customers, and the ideological component of education.
The President enquired in detail about the subjects of the speakers’ reports, asked clarifying questions, and sometimes spoke out himself on various topical issues. “The main thing is that in no case should we destroy vocational education,” the President warned, emphasising that otherwise there would be huge problems. In this aspect, Belarus compares favourably with many countries in the post-Soviet space, which was also noted at the highest level. Thus, at one of the summits of the EAEU leaders, a request was made for assistance in training qualified workers. “[Russian President] Putin replied to that, ‘You know, we still have a problem with that. It is only Belarus that can help you — certainly, not to the extent that you would like. They have retained their vocational education in Belarus, and we abolished it after the collapse of the Soviet Union’,” Aleksandr Lukashenko cited the content of that conversation.
Summing up the discussions, the Head of State stressed that he really disliked formalism and bureaucracy in work. According to the Belarusian leader, the main outcome of the event is not only that its participants had a chance to meet with the President and find out his point of view on various issues. The teachers also had the opportunity to communicate with each other, especially since many of them once studied at the same educational institutions. 

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In his speech, the Belarusian leader outlined the major tasks and challenges faced by the national education system. The President highlighted that educators and teachers lay down value guidelines for the younger generation, which is the highest responsibility. The Head of State stressed that there are no small things in the work of the education system. 

“The field of education is a state-forming industry. It requires serious investments, and we are investing and will continue to invest in it. If there are no educated, well-mannered youth in our country today, there will be no country tomorrow,” the Head of State remarked.

According to the President, nearly Br30 billion has been allocated for the development of the education system over the past three years. Seventy-three educational institutions have been built or overhauled, and nine more will be constructed by the end of the year.
An important indicator attesting to the high quality of Belarusian education is the results of schoolchildren at international Olympiads. Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the fact that they had won more than 200 medals in the last three years alone. “We are especially pleased with the victories in STEM disciplines that are essential for training personnel for knowledge-intensive and high-tech sectors of the economy,” the Head of State said.
The prestige of Belarusian universities is confirmed by the annual growth in the number of foreign students, which now exceeds 30,000 from over 100 countries of the world. The demand among foreigners for education in Belarus is constantly increasing, as stated by the President. “While the sanctions policy forced us to adjust our plans for the development of the industry, we quickly got our bearings, maintained positive dynamics and found new growth points. We began to work more actively with Russia, China, and countries of the Global South,” Aleksandr Lukashenko recounted.
The President underlined that Belarus was seriously committed to advancing science. The authorities are working to refocus the National Academy of Sciences, directing its efforts and expertise to the implementation of promising high-tech projects.
The Belarusian leader confirmed plans to equalise the salaries of education workers with the national average by 2025, “The teacher has always been a pillar of the state. You know how much respect I have for your work. By 2025, we will ensure that the salaries of education workers are equal to the national average.”
According to the President, the national education system, likewise the whole country, faces serious tasks. “The way they are solved depends on each of us. Yet, I have no doubt that we will cope with them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by