Tatsiana Sieviarynec: Our school definitely needed reforms as long ago as yesterday

A new school year starts in the country, but its model is the same.

Not long ago Tatsiana Sieviarynec used to be a teacher of Russian language and literature. The mother of the former political prisoner Paval Sieviarynec was working in school for 34 years. Over that time she studied the system of national education inside out, and continues to monitor the developments in this area. Tatsiana Sieviarynec agreed to share her viewpoint of the situation with the Belarusian education system in the talk with the “EuroBelarus” Information Service.

- A few days ago the Minister of Education Mihail Zhuraukou claimed that "the school system is very decent; it educates extraordinary children". In your opinion, does the school system really needs no reforms?

- The fact that our children are talented is true; but the Minister, as always, is brightening up the picture. Our education system is full of bureaucracy. Teachers are now working with the documents even more than when I used to work.

Now we have private tutors and parents, who are responsible for their children’s education, but it is not the norm of education; school is.

- The fact that teachers should be exempted from paperwork has been voiced long time ago. Why do words still remain only words?

- Our teachers, as well as school administrators, are very dependent. They know that in order to protect themselves from inspections, they need to have the documents. No one cares what you do with children in class; inspectors check documents instead. Documents should be typed, folded, and arranged beautifully – all for a tiny salary teachers get.

- What should be changed in the Belarusian education system?

- We should create a reasonable curriculum. For now there are too many subjects and classes overload, while children's health is deteriorating. Now 75% of the school students suffer from the diseases that are getting "younger" and parents cannot provide children with everything necessary because of low wages and high prices.

As for the curriculum, there should be four basic subjects; everything else can be studied optionally.

Our school definitely needed reforms as long ago as yesterday. We need a decent European education with a guarantee of getting a well-paid job and more autonomy in the educational process. We need extensive participation of local communities in the educational process and European system of certification of knowledge.

A member of the Public Bologna Committee Uladzimir Dunaeu prepared a draft law on education in Belarus that takes Estonian education system as a basis. The draft law requires additional regulations; however, it takes into account both the individual elements of the Belarusian education as well as the leading European experience, and includes de-Sovietization, de-bureaucratization, national peculiarities, as well as various forms of education (including private, domestic, and religious).

The education system should be flexible. Now, unfortunately, it only declares that.

The reforms I’ve mentioned are only possible in dreams in our country with our leadership. Changes may take up to several dozens of years; but if we don’t do it, we will fall deeper and deeper into the hole. Because children do grow up.