Teachers compelled to subscribe for pro-regime newspapers. For a sum of more than $100

The head officials of the local education authority in Pinsk circulated to all schools of its district an instruction about obligatory subscription for newspapers and magazines for the first half year 2009.

A list of periodicals for which subscription was required has been created by the local education authority. Besides, a sum was defined, 240,000 rubles, a monitoring service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists informs.

The suggested list of “necessary newspapers” is topped by “Sovetskaya Belorussia”, then go the regional “Zarya”, district “Polesskaya Pravda”, “Nastaunitskaya Gazeta” and several professional magazines at option.

Teachers, making reference to the crisis and the first-class rate decreased, and consequently, their salaries, asked to make the subscription sum by an order of magnitude smaller.

However the local education authority refused to make concessions and ordered every teacher to show subscription forms as confirmation that they have subscribed for all required newspapers.