Belarus’ accession to Bologna Process open to question

The advisability of Belarus’ accession to the Bologna Process in matters of university education should be once again evaluated, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a government session held on 7 June to discuss the development of higher education, quality of university education, and advisability of Belarus’ accession to the Bologna process.

According to the press service of the head of state, participants of the session were supposed to determine whether Belarus will need to reform the education system, whether the process is an evolutionary one, what requirements will be and whether the quality of university education will be affected.

According to Education Minister Alexander Radkov, among the benefits the Bologna Process offers will be the participation in developing promising educational and scientific programs, the ability to present Belarus’ own vision taking into account national interests. Besides, Belarus will be able to attract a larger number of students, exporting more educational services. The accession will also enable cooperation between universities as part of various programs.

Belarus fulfills all recommendations of the Bologna Process. The university education has two phases. There are quality education programs. The general education standards meet requirements of the European quality management system ISO 9001.

However, the President demanded that the juridical foundation, Belarus’ methods, and the system of interaction between European countries in matters of training professionals for the university education system and in matters relating to the development of the entire education system should be re-examined.

The head of state would like the education system to primarily focus on quality at all stages, especially the education of top echelon specialists. The system should meet national interests, contribute to the development of the national economy, politics, preparation of people to life and work. The education system should have a solid state backbone and a healthy ideology.

The Bologna Process is meant to bring closer and harmonize the education systems of European countries for the sake of creating a common higher education space.

Source: BelTA