Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova visited the Vitebsk region and met with university teachers and students

The rector of Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov, Alexey Egorov, welcomed the guest. He noted that such communication would be mutually beneficial, as Natalia Ivanovna oversees the social sphere, including education.

In her speech, the Deputy Prime Minister focused on the key aspects of the country's political and socio-economic development at the present stage.

— The state for the people is a priority direction for the development of our society. The President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, constantly reminds us of this. He confirmed this direction at the recent UN General Assembly in his speech, — emphasized Natalia Ivanovna. — But in order to fulfill social tasks, a solid economic foundation is required. 2015 is the Year of Youth, it is filled with important events, including the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory and the presidential election. This year, which concludes the five-year plan, was not easy in economic terms. External factors — sanctions against Russia, events in Ukraine — also affected the work of our enterprises. But crises come and go, and labor collectives must be preserved.

The head of state has also spoken about this more than once, as well as about the fact that production needs further modernization and recovery. City-forming and gross-forming enterprises for the country have been identified, and they are provided with state support. Tasks have been set to produce competitive products, diversify markets, and promote Belarusian goods abroad. I want to emphasize that even in difficult economic conditions, not a single program in the social sphere has been curtailed in the republic; they are being implemented in full. I recently returned from the Eurasian Women's Forum, which was attended by 80 countries and more than 800 delegates. When I talked about social programs in Belarus, many could not believe it! It is already evident that the program to ensure demographic security has yielded positive results. The population is growing. Last year, 118.5 thousand babies were born — the highest figure in the years of Belarus's sovereignty.

Great attention is paid to the family: this includes benefits, family capital, and preferential loans for housing construction. The next demographic security program, "Health of the Nation – Health of Belarusians," is currently being developed. Life expectancy is increasing in the republic, and the number of pensioners is growing. For example, out of 9.5 million residents, 2.5 million are pensioners. This is a significant burden, but the state bears it!

Next, Natalia Ivanovna focused on the education system, noting that it is established and undoubtedly needs improvement, but without revolutionary upheavals.

— We often hear questions about how to restore the prestige of the teaching profession, — the Deputy Prime Minister continued. — Well, the situation has already changed, as evidenced by this year's admission campaign – pedagogical universities have enrolled more applicants than others! This is encouraging. Now it is up to the educators themselves: whether they will treat their work with reverence, whether they will respect it even more in society. This year, stronger applicants entered higher education institutions. There are 54 universities in the country, 45 of which are state-owned. We are not talking about reducing their number, but we need to train specialists who will be in demand in the labor market 5 and 10 years from now. The training of one student on a state-funded basis costs an average of 34 million rubles per year. The state cannot and should not spend such money without receiving a return. Therefore, the task is to strengthen career guidance work – starting from the school desk, continuing in the system of vocational and secondary specialized education.

There is still a shortage of staff with higher pedagogical education in the preschool system; this issue is being addressed, as is the issue of providing places in nurseries and kindergartens in new, growing microdistricts. It is planned to build 80 preschool institutions there across the republic by 2020. In addition, alternative forms will be developed – private preschool institutions, of which there are still few. No special innovations are expected in the general secondary education system. As you know, schools and gymnasiums have returned to specialized training and decide for themselves which specialization to open.

People often ask why teachers are burdened with duties that are not inherent to them. So, the government sets only two, but very important tasks for pedagogical workers: to teach and to educate! If they are fulfilled, the state will prosper. I will return again to the impressions from participating in the Eurasian Women's Forum.

Having communicated with delegates from other countries, for example, Syria, you clearly understand how happy people we are! We live in a peaceful, calm country, ready to work for its benefit, so that it continues to develop, not losing, but multiplying the accumulated positive potential. The entire republic is now on the eve of an important political event – the election of the head of state. And how actively you participate in them, what decision you make, for which of the candidates you cast your votes, depends on what our Belarus will become!

In conclusion of the meeting, N. Kochanova also answered numerous audience questions regarding the place and role of women in politics, increasing the salaries of university professors, pension provision, and other topical issues.

Larisa Volkova. Photo by Oleg Klimovich, "Vitbichi".