Bologna process is an "adequacy test" for future interactions with the EU

Experts note freeze of the reforms and set back in the implementing the Roadmap.

What are the challenges civil society is facing in its attempt to influence the fulfilment of obligations given by Belarus regarding joining the Bologna process? What steps for establishing a dialogue between the civil society and the state can be taken? And what could be the consequences for Belarus in case it fails to meet the Roadmap conditions?  EuroBelarus Information Service talked to the experts about it.

Andrei Yahorau, The director of the Center for European Transformation 

- The first and the most important challenge civil society is currently facing in monitoring the implementation of the Roadmap is public interest  in the broadest of its sense in the matters concerning  higher education reforms. That is because there is no public and state dialogue about it in Belarus. There is only one "actor" in this game, which is the state. First it claims to be committed to the Bologna process and signs the Roadmap, then refuses to implement it. At the same time there is no public discussion on the need of reforms in Belarus, ways of meeting the Bologna process requirements, and its value for the education system. In such an important issue for the whole country all the decisions are made without any participation of the public.

The second issue is the uncertainty of the Belarusian government and the inconsistency in the reforms implementation order. We are imitating things: it looks as if we are in the Bologna process and there is nothing needed to be done, we pretend that everything is fine. But no, not everything is fine, and we must speak it out.

The third problem is that currently under the label of discussing educational system a certain beginning of counter-reforms is hidden.  In the best of all scenarios, the freeze of the reforms takes place; in the worst one – a complete set back. This situation is difficult to change as the civil society cannot participate in making decisions on any of the issues essential for the country. Therefore it is necessary to expand the number of organizations and entities interested in education reforms: we should communicate with the companies and entrepreneurs in need of personnel educated by the current system, appeal to the parents and try to make academic community and students more active. However, each time we receive very weak response from these communities.

But the international mechanisms help us. When we are talking about economic issues, the government is fully dependent on its political will, but when touching the Bologna process it appears to be 47 countries admitting Belarus to their circle. And they can put pressure on us: if you want to be in the club, you need to do something to meet its standards. Thanks to the ability to communicate not only with the Belarusian government but also with the governments of other countries and the European Union partners, civil society can be more influential.

We look forward to the dialogue with our state institutions; we don’t have any aggressive position to only criticize the government. We hope that the state understands the need for reforms at least to some extent. Therefore we invite it to participate in the conference on the role of civil society in the implementation of the Roadmap of higher education reform. The state’s official boycott of the civil society (despite the fact that informal contacts are still maintained though limited by the political will that comes from the President's Administration) will be the continuation of the distressing situation we see right now. In this case the civil society will continue to build up its influence and pressurize the Belarusian government. It should be understood that the Bologna process is a so-called "adequacy test" for future interactions with the European Union. And if the state refuses to cooperate, then there’s no way it can expect international financial institutions to collaborate. Why does the Belarusian government think that the EU will sign a bilateral co-operation agreement if Belarus is unable to fulfill its engagements on less global issues?..

Uladzimir Dunaeu, professor of philosophy, the member of the public Bologna committee reports: 

- Now Public Bologna Committee is preparing for the international scientific and practical conference on the role of civil society in the implementation of the Roadmap of reforming Belarusian higher education. Unfortunately, we see a slowdown, set back of the reforms realization. It is disappointing and also indicates failure of Belarusian authorities to reach an agreement, as Roadmap implementation is an international commitment.

It is a traditional feature of civil society institute to act as "watchdogs", i.e. to monitor the implementation of reforms by the state. We have developed the implementation of the Roadmap index system, which will be presented at the conference. Unfortunately, it is not optimistic as the results are quite modest. In addition to this we see the state evading its commitments taken one year ago.

Apart from advocating social groups and defending the interests of students and employers, civil society in Belarus performs the expert role as well, as public institutions have no competence to reform higher education. The conference will become a platform for sharing the expert opinions. The submitted applications show that a lot of Belarusian universities are planning to participate in it, which means that they are ready to discuss the change of values and tools (internationalization, the national qualifications framework, etc..) that make reforms effective.

We would like to get acquainted with the experience of other countries that have gone through the Bologna reforms. There will be a round table at the conference where representatives of the Eastern Partnership will share their achievements in reforming higher education with us at the top level. It is of special importance to us that the keynote speaker of the plenary session of the conference will be the legendary figure in the field of European higher education - Professor Ian Sadlak, expert on politics, management and higher education administration, president of the IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence, former director of the European Centre for higher education (UNESCO-CEPES in 1999 -2009) and head of the Department of Higher Education policy, UNESCO (1992 - 1999).
International scientific and practical conference "Public participation in the modernization of higher education: the role of civil society in the implementation of the Roadmap of higher education reform in Belarus" will be held in Minsk on 23-24 September 2016. To participate in the conference you should fill in the registration form.