Valiantsina Alinevich: Students flee Belarus

The authorities more need loyalty of academic staff and students than their professional skills and brains.

Valiantsina Alinevich, an associate professor, PhD in Economics, spoke to charter97.org about the low international ranking of Belarusian universities.

“It's not a surprise for me and for academic staff in universities. All of us see that the level of education has fallen in the country during the last decade. The key reason is not the level of professionalism of teachers, but the conditions in all sectors, including higher education. Not initiatives, but only mediocre is welcomed. There's a tendency to welcome political loyalty of academic staff and students rather than professional skills. It leads to downgrading professional knowledge. Parents pay their last money and send children to universities, but they don't receive much there. The fact that Belarus is the only country that hasn't joined the Bologna Process is a link in the same chain,” the economist thinks.

She adds that many students flee Belarus to Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic and so on.

“Belarusian higher education is not recognised in other countries. Is there sense to pay for what you can receive in another country at a lower price but with higher quality? I had worked in the times when Viktar Hanchar and Stanislau Bahdankevich had worked at universities. They are famous and outstanding people. Students were more active. They are scared now. It is not only corrosion of economy and educational system, but corrosion of the entire life. I think it's a crime when the state's policy doesn't support people's aspirations to the better,” Valiantsina Alinevich said.

Belarusian universities were not included in the ARWU top 500, the most influential global ranking of universities.