Matskevіch: “Liquidation of profile classes is sabotage against the school”

Belarusian pupils will study for 11 years again starting from the next school year. According to another school reform, profile and lyceum classes will be liquidated. A deputy Uladzimir Zdanovich thinks that not all pupils should be oriented at entering higher educational institutions. Lyceums are expecting a bigger number of entrants and “The Association of the Belarusian Language” is waiting for creation of new educational means.
The head of the commission on education, culture and science of the House of Representatives Uladzimir Zdanocvich thinks that not all school graduates should get higher education. In the official’s opinion, studies in higher educational institutions have become a mass phenomenon but the quality of it leaves much to be desired:

“We have to provide secondary education to everyone. There should be a short period of time for those who are going to enter universities. The education process should be regulated so that everyone would not be able to get higher education. Although it has become a mass phenomenon in Belarus, its quality is not really high. This is the problem”.

Uladzіmіr Zdanovіch thinks that there should be a unified system of education for all pupils. Those who would like to continue their studies should study more after they graduate. Tamara Matskevich, a representative of “the Belarusian Language Association”, says that the liquidation of profile classes is “sabotage against the school”:


“Additional educational means may be created following the example of Kolas lyceum. The fact that lyceum classes and the whole system of profile education are being eliminated is sabotage against the school. It is impossible to know everything or nothing. Our authorities have chosen nothing out of “everything” and “nothing”.

The problem of liquidation of profile education has been easily solved in school #3 in Vileika: pupils from profile classes will attend optional courses in their majors:

“We told parents that their children would have an opportunity to get a profound knowledge of their majors with the help of optional courses”, said the headmaster of Vileika school #3 Mikalai Hiro in an interview with ERB.

Going to study in lyceums and grammar schools is another way out for pupils wishing to enter universities after school. However, another problem arises in this case: the entrance competition. Alena Andreeva, the deputy headmistress of BSU lyceum, told ERB that the number of entrants would increase dramatically after lyceum classes were eliminated. They will have to study twice as hard for it:

“There is no doubt that the competition will increase. It was practically unreal in our lyceum and we are afraid to think of what will happen after the reform. I think that everyone will use their opportunity: they do not know whether they can pass exams or not but they will surely try to. Everyone wants to get good education, this is a fact”.