Stanislau Shushkevich: Belarus’ admission to Bologna Process is result of EU’s flirting with Lukashenka

Belarus’ becoming a participant of the Bologna Process won’t affect democratization of the higher education in our country in any way.

It has been stated in an interview to charter97.org website by Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, Professor, of the Academy of Sciences, a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the first leader of independent Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich. In this way he comments on the decision announced in Yerevan on May 14 at the Conference of Education Ministers of the European Higher Education Area countries and the Forum on the Bologna policy.

- The decision of admitting Belarus to the Bologna Process is tentative, – Stanislau Shushkevich said. – It has become the result of the EU’s flirting with the official Minsk. Europeans are inconsistent towards Belarus and make many mistakes. I hope that in this area they are going to stimulate our universities to implement certain changes, understanding that our country falls short of the requirements of the Bologna Process still. I can just hope that something would be done in Belarusian universities after this decision, and the higher education would match European standards more.

Minsk has been provided with a sort of a “road map”, demonstrated in which direction to move for the Bologna system to work in our country. At the moment there are a number of obstacles for that. Self-rule is absent in Belarusian institutions of higher education, presidents of universities are not elected.

- Moreover, crackdown on students and professors because of their views is going on in Belarus. Belarus’ signing the Bologna Process document is unlikely to stop them.

- I do not expect that this decision is going to affect democratic changes, that (students won’t be expelled and professors evicted) on political motives any more. Lukashenka’s regime cannot exist even in the conditions when there would be certain elements of democracy. The authorities won’t comply with the requirements to them, they are to continue to lie as before and mislead Europeans.

We remind that today the dictatorial Belarus has joined the Bologna Process and joined the European Higher Education Area. It was announced in Yerevan at the Conference of Education Ministers of the EHEA and the Forum on Bologna policy. During the discussion on Belarus’ admission some participants of the discussion voiced their concerns. Ministers of education of Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Iceland stated that it is necessary for Belarus to meet the conditions of the road map for joining the Bologna Process.

The application for joining the Bologna process and the EHEA was sent by the Education Ministry of Belarus in 2014. In early April this year it became known that the Belarusian issue was put on the agenda, and the head of the Education Minister Mikhail Zhuraukou (Zhuravkov) received an invitation to the conference in Yerevan.