"And They Also Said In Class That We Needed To Replace The Linoleum."

Belarusians are complaining about extortion in schools.

A Minsk resident, tatsiana_xleb, shared what she had to spend extra money on in September.

“80 rubles for workbooks, 22 rubles for book fees,” she writes. “Water is 10 rubles for now, and they’re also asking for 50 rubles for towels, soap, and other school supplies.

And they also told the parents in the class to replace the linoleum—to buy everything and have it replaced.”

Social media users advised her not to agree to these extortions and to refuse to pay. The website Charter97.org features some comments:

- Just refuse to pay. They’ll complain about you for a month and then forget about it.

- The government allocates funds for classroom repairs, and the school’s maintenance director provides soap as well.

- Linoleum is a school necessity, just like towels, soap, and so on. And it was recently stated that collecting money for such supplies is prohibited.

- When I worked at a school, I even had to buy my own chalk for class. Shame on a school that can’t provide teachers with chalk or install blinds in the classrooms.

- It’s horrifying to think about all those outline maps for every subject down the road.

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