Director: Daniel C. Levy

More Governmental Control on Belarusian Private Universities

PROPHE Summary (by Prachayani Praphamontripong):

The Belarusian government has tightened its control over private universities and other independent institutions as they allegedly show less attention to authorities' policies and ideology. Currently, private universities fear that they can be shut down and have their licenses revoked for any excuse stated by the government. In September the government will make more closures in private law, business, and economic schools. Although some private universities are registered abroad as a solution to the governmental actions, they will neither be able to pass the test nor be granted a license and accreditation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Belarus has 10 private universities enrolling 600,000 students and 43 state-owned universities with 300,000 students.

PROPHE Observation (by Daniel C. Levy):

The political orientation of the government in Belarus appears to promote a tough stance against private higher education. We see a pattern found in a number of countries: marked and explicit conflict between government and private higher education institutions. Such conflict is neither typical nor unknown elsewhere in the region. One example of conflict, seen beyond Belarus alone, is that government judges that certain popular fields are saturated, whereas private institutions say the market is the best judge of that. The Belarusian conflict appears to be deeply embedded in broader political struggles. The private sector seeks some relief through its international ties but the relief is far from complete. At 25 percent, the Belarusian private share of enrollments is comparatively to the high side within the region.