Vocational Schools Must Regain Their Authority

"Recently, priorities in the education system of our country have shifted towards higher education. General secondary schools start preparing students for university entrance from the very first grade. Meanwhile, vocational and secondary specialized education have turned into some sort of intermediate stage of continuous learning," — said Irina Drigo, Head of the Department of Socio-Cultural Policy of the Main Ideological Directorate of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, during the Ministry of Education’s board meeting, which summarized the results of the department’s activities for 2007. According to Drigo, the vocational and secondary specialized education system must regain its former prestige because Belarus currently suffers from a severe shortage of skilled workers and mid-level specialists: "Young people view vocational and specialized secondary education as somewhat inferior — this needs to change. In general, we must ask ourselves: do we really need mass higher education? Perhaps universities pursue commercial goals, turning higher education into a form of general development without considering the actual demand for graduates in the labor market? It's absolutely clear that the future lies with technical specialists."

According to sociological research, the main factors reducing children's interest in school — as noted by parents, students, and teachers — are overly complex curricula and textbooks. "This raises a logical question: have we truly done everything to reduce the academic load on our children? We are told that the programs have been simplified by 30%, but is that really so? There’s no confidence in that," said Drigo. "In my opinion, children should be able to master the curriculum on their own, without the involvement of parents or private tutors."

As the senior level of the 12-year school is set to transition to specialized education next academic year, Drigo drew attention to the following concerns: "Will the school take into account the interests of children when implementing specialized learning, or will it be imposed through directives? Will we always be able to ensure a sufficient teaching staff and an adequate level of infrastructure? Perhaps it is worth considering returning to a model where the school is aimed at students with varying abilities and life plans, while the education of particularly gifted children is conducted in gymnasiums and lyceums?"