BSU admitted to Europe, despite dismissal of “unreliable” students

Recently the Belarusian State University has been accepted to the European University Association.

It has happened despite systematic violations of academic freedoms in Belarus, and despite regular dismissals of dissenting students from the Belarusian State University.

Thus, according to information of the Committee for protection of the repressed “Solidarity”, in 2006 taken alone 41 students were expelled from the University for social and political activities. “Politically unreliable” students were expelled from the university in the following years as well.

The latest striking and probably the most publicized example was expelling a student of the law faculty, a spokesperson of the Young Front Tatsyana Shapuska. The girl was expelled for missing several days in connection with participation in the civil society conference of the Eastern Partnership Program of the European Union. Her demonstrative expelling coincided with welcoming the Belarusian State University as a member of the European University Association, an organisation for which promotion of academic freedoms is one of the aims.

“As far as I know, the process of accepting the Belarusian State University to the European University Association was started long ago, and it is just a coincidence that the decision was made together with the new expulsions. I think that Belarusian universities should aspire to become members of such associations, and accept international standards of education, but this means primarily internal work. Besides, such a membership does not exclude pinpoint sanctions. As far as I know, Foreign Ministries of some European countries are already getting prepared to impose pinpoint sanctions against the administration of the Belarusian State University because of evictions of oppositionists,” Tatsyana Shaputska said.

Besides, Tatsyana Shaputska believes that the BSU does not have enough influence to change approaches of the EUA.

“The BSU is not a university that can impose its standards to the European system of education. That is why the BSU would be obliged to accept European standards. In case evictions of oppositional students would continue, the membership of the BSU in this association could be short,” Shaputska said.

Nevertheless, accepting of the BSU to the EUA really looks as an advance to some extent. Firstly, the university was accepted in a general list, though it is considered a serious achievement in our country. 9 more universities have become members of the EUA together with the Belarusian university. Among them are: Lusk National Technical University (Ukraine) and National Pedagogical Dragomanov University (Ukraine).

It is unlikely that somebody would claim that the BSU has risen to eminence in education standards and especially in respect of academic freedoms.