VZCZCXRO7456
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSK #0267/01 0870952
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280952Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5844
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1488
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000267 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV BO
SUBJECT: HIGHER EDUCATION: NOTHING IS TRULY FREE IN BELARUS 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Public universities dominate higher education in 
Belarus and follow a largely Soviet model.  Despite a 
constitutional right to a free education, most students pay 
tuition.  The GOB offers an ever-decreasing number of 
"budget", or tuition-free places, and may eventually offer 
none.  Students who accept a "free" education oblige 
themselves to accept a two-year government assigned job upon 
graduation.  Non-scholarship graduates rely on connections to 
find jobs, but often have to take low-paying jobs for which 
they are over-qualified.  End summary. 
 
State Universities Dominate Belarusian Higher Education 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Higher education in Belarus remains a 
state-controlled affair.  Several ministries, including 
Education, Culture, Health, Sports, and Defense control 
state-owned universities.  Approximately 300,000 students 
were enrolled in 43 state-run universities, compared to 
58,000 in 12 private universities.  State-run does not mean 
inexpensive.  According to students and faculty, tuition at 
state-owned universities ranges from USD 1,100-2,000 (i.e. up 
to over half the average annual salary) depending on the 
university and on the department.  Equivalent departments at 
private universities charge USD 300-700 less for tuition. 
 
Who Receives a "Free" Education? 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Constitution of Belarus guarantees citizens the 
right to free higher education based on competition. 
University applicants take two tests as part of the 
centralized testing process; one either in Belarusian or 
Russian, and the other on the subject they intend to make 
their major.  The GOB currently funds a predetermined number 
of tuition-free places.  The number of tuition-free or 
"budget" places depends on the GOB's perceived need for a 
particular specialty.  The Ministry of Education's press 
office stated that for the 2006-2007 school year the GOB 
offered 31,414 budget places, but this figure has been 
declining annually.  Vladimir Zhdanovich, a member of 
Belarus' House of Parliament, stated that there would 
eventually be no tuition-free students.  Instead, low 
interest loans, already available, will become widespread. 
 
¶4. (SBU) A Belarusian State University employee involved in 
the "raspredeleniye" (distribution of students to government 
jobs) process, stated that students from rural areas and 
Chernobyl-affected areas receive preferential consideration 
for university enrollment and budget places.  In exchange for 
a free university education the GOB expects graduates, 
especially teachers and physicians, to return home.  This 
ensures that schools and medical facilities in villages and 
radiation-affected areas have sufficient staff.  Extremely 
poor students may also receive a budget position.  In 
addition to free tuition, over 90 percent of budget students 
also receive a monthly stipend.  According to students, 
stipends range from between USD 50-106 a month. 
 
Discounts and Loans for Paying Students 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In May 2006, the Council of Ministers issued a 
directive entitling the best-performing students to a tuition 
discount of up to 60 percent, depending on their grades.  The 
discount will be valid throughout the next academic year 
unless the student receives poor marks, fails a course, or 
violates their university's code of conduct.  (Note: 
Misconduct may be defined as missing class for unacceptable 
political activity.  Some universities reportedly scheduled 
special classes on Sunday, March 25 to coincide with an 
opposition rally.  End note.)  Non-budget public university 
students who cannot afford tuition may apply for low-interest 
loans. 
 
The Payback: Two-Year Hardship Assignments 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Large employers such as factories, the Ministry of 
Education and the Ministry of Health send requests to 
universities for graduates.  This results in lists of 
positions that each university department with budget spaces 
must fill.  Medical students and teacher's college students 
on full-scholarships are almost always assigned to jobs via 
this system.  During "raspredeleniye" budget students may 
 
MINSK 00000267  002 OF 002 
 
 
choose from the list that details what positions are needed 
where.  Those with the highest grades choose first.  However, 
such jobs often require city residents to move to some 
remote, "backwoods" part of the country, far from family and 
friends, where specialists remain in short supply. 
Additionally, government jobs usually pay less.  According to 
students, a recent graduate may expect to earn between USD 
250-400 a month at a government job, and between USD 300-700 
at a private job.  Despite all of this, students rarely turn 
down the offer of a "free" education. 
 
Refusing An Assigned Job Has Consequences 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The GOB prints the end date of obligatory service on 
budget student's diplomas.  By law GOB and private 
enterprises may not hire graduates who have not fulfilled 
their two-year work assignment.  Furthermore, graduates 
refusing to accept their government-assigned job must 
compensate the GOB for their training costs.  In the past, 
each university was responsible for collecting tuition 
reimbursement payments from its graduates.  In 2006 the GOB 
passed a new law that transferred this responsibility to the 
government.  According to GOB statistics, the number of 
students who failed to report to assigned jobs decreased from 
14 percent in 2005, to less than two tenths of a percent in 
¶2006. 
 
 
Work Assignments Not Just For Budget Students Anymore 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) At the end of the 2005 academic year paying medical 
students also began to receive government job assignments by 
order of the Ministry of Health.  Pavel Bespalchuk, rector of 
Belarusian State Medical University, stated that this was 
simply an attempt to assist paying students, whose numbers 
have increased in recent years, "find employment" after 
graduation.  Unlike budget students, paying students will not 
face "repressive measures" should they turn down a government 
work assignment. 
 
How Do Non-Scholarship University Graduates Find Work? 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) According to students, faculty, and a private 
employment agency, most fee-paying students found work in one 
of three ways.  Most common was the use of connections 
available through family or friends.  Next, beginning during 
their third year, students do a number of internships outside 
the classroom as part of their coursework.  Often these 
internships lead to a job after graduation for hard working 
students.  Third, the GOB, as well as some private 
enterprises, recruits students with the specialties they need 
at graduation.  As a last resort, students go to a private 
employment agency, post their resume on the internet, or look 
in business newspapers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Offering "budget" places at state universities 
allows the Lukashenko regime to, at least in word, maintain 
the illusion that it provides a high level of free social 
assistance in all spheres of life.  However, the two-year 
assignment that the GOB demands in return proves that this is 
truly just an illusion and that nothing is really free, even 
in Belarus.  Many people told Poloff that, rather than face 
unemployment, many university graduates take low-paying jobs 
for which they are overqualified.  Students stated that 
employers look upon work and educational experience in the 
U.S. very favorably. 
 
¶11. (SBU) It would seem likely that if funding for "budget" 
places at state-owned institutions is replaced with 
low-interest loans, an increasing number of students will 
want to study at the cheaper private universities.  If this 
occurs, the GOB might be forced to apply the raspredeleniye 
process to all paying students, as it has begun to do with 
medical students, in order to keep sufficient numbers of 
specialists in the regions.  Should that happen, it would 
create even greater labor market distortions and further 
alienate Belarusian youth. 
Stewart