Each citizen of the Republic of Belarus is guaranteed
the right to get education. The multilevel system established in the country
allows exercising the right to the
full extent.
Preschool education
It includes a net of preschool establishments
differing by types and profile of work with children. For children under age 6
there are such types of preschool establishments as nursery, preprimary school,
kindergarten, kindergarten-school.
According to the profile they can be divided into
institutions of general purpose, specialty schools, sanatory infant schools, special infant schools for
psychophysically-challenged children, preschool centres of child’s development.
General secondary education
The majority of girls and boys come to school for the
first time when they are 6 years old. The first four years of school are
devoted to acquiring basic skills
and habits of writing, reading, counting; mastering primary knowledge of the
nature, society and man; getting
acquainted with principles of personal hygiene
and healthy way of life.
The main objective of the primary school is not only
the development of physical and intellectual capabilities of schoolchildren, ethical and moral properties of a personality,
but the formation of children's steady
interest to studies. The basic and secondary school is ahead, which envisages mandatory studying of
subjects of the social-and-humanitarian cycle (the Belarusian and Russian
languages and literatures, Foreign Language, History of Belarus and the World's
History, Man and Society), natural-and-scientific cycle (Mathematics,
Informatics, Geography, Biology, Physics, Chemistry) and aesthetic cycle (music, fine arts, world artistic culture),
physical training and labor education.
The continuity and succession principles let
schoolchildren proceed from one stage to the next one replenishing the store of their knowledge. By the way, the 10-grade
assessment system of knowledge substituted the 5-grade scale several years ago
in order to enhance individual
approach to pupils and students.
Establishments of general secondary education are
allowed to set up gymnasia classes,
classes with profiled subject study, to introduce optional subjects and
courses, to hold sustaining, stimulating and other types of classes. The
introduction of the curriculum
school component allowed to make education in senior classes of schools of
general education, gymnasiums, lyceums and colleges a profiled one,
directed to further education at appropriate educational institutions or to a
certain sphere of labor activity.
Vocational Education
Vocational education is one of the most important
links of the national educational system involved in qualified working staff
training. Over 240 educational establishments belong to the sector (of them 235
are state-run and 7 are private). They include vocational schools, colleges and
professional lyceums where training in over 300 professions is conducted. At
present, preference is given to broad specialist training thus contracting
training in particular specialties.
Special secondary education
Special secondary education (secondary vocational education)
aims at providing the republic with qualified staff. Staff training at state
special secondary educational establishments (technical schools, colleges,
secondary schools-colleges of Arts, gymnasium-colleges of Arts, linguistic
gymnasium-colleges, vocational colleges and others) is conducted in over 150
professions for all branches of national economy. The list of specialties and
curricula are updated annually to
meet the modern labor market requirements
and correspond with educational establishments’ resources.
Higher education in the Republic of Belarus
Altogether there are 57 higher educational
establishments, of which 43 are state owned (28 universities, 8 academies, 1
institute, 5 higher colleges, 1 higher school), 13 are private and 2 are run by
religious organizations. Every establishment occupies its particular niche in training of highly qualified
staff for various branches of national economy.
Classical and profile universities as well as
institutes are classified as higher educational establishments of university
type and provide a two level system of higher education with academic degrees
of Bachelor and Master.
3 forms of learning are available at Belarusian higher educational establishments: full-time, evening and by correspondence. Full-time learning
is the most widespread and in the greatest demand with 2/3 of the students.
Less than 1% of students use evening form of learning and over 35% of students
learn by correspondence.
A combination of various forms of learning is
accepted, so is learning on individual curricula. The efficiency of any form of
learning is ensured by eminently qualified teaching staff including a large
number of candidates and doctors of science, associate professors and
professors.
Establishments providing postgraduate education include higher educational establishments (regardless of pattern of ownership),
scientific and other organizations entitled
to engage in postgraduate education in
accordance with established procedure.
Belarusian education is popular among foreign
students. Fifty-one institutions provide paid education services to foreign
citizens. The education is given in Belarusian and Russian. Its cost is set by
the education institutions themselves with respect to each profession in
accordance with international practice in
the field.
Around 130 foreign citizens do postgraduate courses at
Belarusian research institutions and institutions of higher learning every
year.
