The draft Education Code is being prepared for consideration at the autumn session in the House of Representatives

July 22, Minsk / Yulia Vanina - BELTA/. The draft Education Code is being prepared for consideration at the autumn session of the House of Representatives. This was announced to BELTA correspondent by Vladimir Zdanovich, Chairman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives on Education, Culture, Science and Scientific and Technical Progress. According to him, in the last days of July, the draft Education Code will be sent for final approval to all interested parties. During the discussion and preparation of the draft for the second reading, all interested parties submitted many proposals to improve the main document of modern Belarusian education. "Some of the comments received have been taken into account, and some, for example, technical ones, have been taken into account by the developers," noted Vladimir Zdanovich. Deputies and developers (Ministry of Education) categorically refused to incorporate several proposals into the document. Thus, a proposal was received not to limit the age of a child when entering school and to admit children of any age upon application from parents. "This means that some modern mothers or fathers, with great desire, could even enroll two- or three-year-old children in school, which fundamentally contradicts all norms," the deputy explained. "A child has the right to a normal childhood, and overloading him with the school curriculum ahead of time, artificially making him a prodigy, means crippling his future fate." The proposed draft Code does not envisage a global change in the education system, the deputy emphasized. However, this is the first set of education laws in Belarus that introduces a new branch – educational law. The draft reflects issues of developing new technologies in education, including the active use of open education (distance learning) technologies, improving the material base of educational institutions, and systematically changing the content of education in accordance with the changing requirements of the labor market. The draft Code specifies in detail what disciplinary responsibility is and when it arises. This applies to all participants in the educational process: parents, teachers, and students. The draft provides for the expulsion of senior high school students for failing three subjects. Norms on preschool, secondary vocational, and supplementary adult education are consolidated. Legal relations for these levels of education are currently not regulated by direct-effect laws. Structurally, the draft Code is divided into a General Part and a Special Part. The Education Code is a voluminous document that consolidates regulatory legal acts by systematizing them according to education levels. During its development, an analysis of international treaties, fundamental acts of the UN, UNESCO, and other international organizations was carried out.