12-year education system doesn’t match our mentality and economic situation?

The bottom line of the discussion about the expediency of the 12-year schooling system boils down to the opposition between parents and officials, the European Radio for Belarus has learned. Parents want their children to enroll with universities, while officials expect children to work at factories and in agriculture. As a result, school becomes a hostage in this standoff, while children become victims.

Why don’t parents and officials fail to understand each other? Who is fighting for what? Uladzimir Zdanovich, the chair of the Education, Culture and Science Committee at the House of Representatives, explains to the European Radio for Belarus:

“Parents want their children to enter universities only and complain that school cannot prepare them for getting admitted to college. That’s why they are forced to hire coaches. But the school was never tasked to prepare everyone for college. Officials have an opposite goal. They believe that most of the children will go to vocational and technical schools, with just few heading to universities. The government puts pressure on schools to orient children in this way”.

As a result, a working group to study the issue of abolishing the 12-year education system and replacing it with the 11-year curriculum has been set up. However, the 5-day schooling week is likely to be preserved on condition that not more than 5-6 classes will be taught per day. In the view of the lawmaker, this can be done with the help of two things. The first option is to cut the duration of vacations.

“One can slightly reduce the vacations in such a way that the joint recreation of parents and children is not disrupted. For example, pupils could be dismissed for vacations from June 7 not from May 25 as it is now. Winter, spring and fall breaks could also be reduced. Otherwise, it is too much of resting”, Uladzimir Zdanovich says.

The second option is to squeeze the curriculum from two years into one. The chair of the commission says it is no problem that teachers don’t have those “squeezed” programs for the new schooling year. He says that every teacher should determine what to cut in the curriculum.

According to Zdanovich, textbooks for the 12-year school are repaid within two years. Parents who cover 50 percent of their costs have already repaid the publishing costs to the state. New textbooks could also be printed, there is no problem. The other thing is how to sort out the graduates of the year 2009. It means that both those who finished the 12-year course and those who finished the squeezed 11-year course will graduate on the same year. And all of them will want to enroll with universities. The working group has been set up in order to handle this flow of youngsters, according to Zdanovich.

It is still hard to say what conclusions will be drawn by the working group. But already now, the chair of the parliamentary committee suggests abolishing the system of gymnasiums and lyceums in order to bring the schooling to the unified general education system.

“It is necessary to shift gradually to a unified general education for all. Additional education will be available for those who want to enter universities. Processes should be regulated so that not everyone studies in universities. Otherwise, quality of higher education will be compromised.

Volha Charnavusava, the headmaster of technological gymnasium No 13, backs the idea of the 11-year education. She says that they have enough time to offer a quality education even within this period of time. But the most important thing is that the 12-year education system doesn’t match the Belarusian mentality and the economic situation in the country.

“In the conditions of our economic situation together with our mentality, 11-year term is the best. The public is against the 12-year system. I have two granddaughters and I think: “Thank God that it will 11 years!”

Violetta Zvyarkovich who runs the Minsk-based private gymnasium, Altasfera tells the European Radio for Belarus that they will not be affected by fresh reforms in the education sector. However, she supports the 11-year system.

“Our school is private. It means we are not affected by this reform. But in my personal point view, 12 years are too much”.

Volha Karalyova, a deputy headmaster at School No 7 in Maladzechna, is critical about the plans to squeeze two years into one for today’s ten-graders.

“If they decide to squeeze two years in one for those kids, just imagine that they will have to pass exams for the basic school course. Next year they will face exams for the secondary school course. They should be wunderkinds in this case, especially with these difficult tests that we have now. I teach the 11th grades. I did not learn this stuff when I was at the university. To prepare myself for class, I scan through 8-9 manuals every evening! Imagine that a kid has to cover that within one year. It is not realistic”.

In the words of Kavalyova, if the Ministry of Education sends clear curriculums and instructions what to cut off the programs in order to squeeze two years in one, they will be able to work then. If teachers are told to decide by themselves, it will make things even worse. It is still unclear whether the ministry will manage to develop the new programs if officials decide to abolish the 12-year education system effective from next year.