Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 24 July (BelTA) – Only such people who will be in demand in the public administration sector should study in the Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of Belarus starting from 1 September, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he heard out a report on the performance of the university on 24 July, BelTA informs.

The president reminded that the proposals to improve the process of education in the academy should be submitted to him before September. It is important to decide who will study and attend professional advancement courses at the academy, what requirements will be applied to lecturers, how the tutorial framework will be changed. “What has been done as of today? What are you going to do next? Do you need assistance and support? You should step up efforts. Only such people who will be in demand in the public administration sector should study in the academy starting from 1 September,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.

“When appointing a new rector we agreed to make the Academy of Pubic Administration more efficient across the board. All people studying in the academy, getting professional retraining or advancement should be in demand in the public administration sector. This is the main thing,” the president stressed.

These are crucial requirements, the head of state said. “You understand that this is the only educational institution under the aegis of the president. Only qualified, smart and intelligent people devoted to our state and our nation should study there,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

The meeting was attended by Head of the Belarus President Administration Natalya Kochanova, Education Minister Igor Karpenko, Rector of the Academy of Public Administration Gennady Palchik.

According to the rector, the academy has already taken measures to improve the educational process. For example, the structure of government order and the number of listeners have been optimized. The system of budget-sponsored education and other aspects have been optimized as well, Gennady Palchik said. The specialists of the academy have also revised educational plans and programs taking into account the possible optimization of education terms. Professional advancement and retraining programs have been revised too.

The meeting also focused on full-time education at the academy. In the new academic year 100 first-year students will major in public administration and law, public administration and economics, management of information resources. The passing scores were 343, 336 and 341 respectively. It is expected that university applicants will have centralized tests and interviews next year. According to the rector, it will help select the most interested applicants. The head of state supported the innovation and warned that everything should be open and transparent.

People from other towns account for 84% of all first-year students. The president mentioned this figure and added that students from other places know about the life in Minsk and other places.

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that all graduates of the academy should be exceptional specialists because they will form the administrative pool of the county in the future.

Special attention was drawn to material and technical facilities of the university. The head of state instructed to improve dormitories and canteens. He stressed that it should be done in all Belarusian universities.

The optimization of the Academy of Public Administration should be an example for all universities in Belarus, the president said. His requirement is to avoid formalism in the educational process.

The Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of Belarus has almost 8,500 students.