Belarus terminated the agreement with Ukraine on the certification of scientists and teachers

Political scientist Dzermant: Ukrainian teachers need to be kept under control

Belarus terminated the agreement with Ukraine on cooperation in the field of certification of highly qualified scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel. The decision was a response to the regular denunciation of certain agreements by Kyiv.

In May 2000, the countries signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of certification of highly qualified scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel. Now the Belarusian side has withdrawn the agreement and intends to notify Kyiv of this decision. “To terminate the agreement between the government of Belarus and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on cooperation in the field of certification of highly qualified scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel,” says the resolution of the Council of Ministers.

In mid-October, the Belarusian side also terminated the agreement with Ukraine on mutual recognition and equivalence of educational documents, academic degrees and titles. Earlier, the same decision was made in Kyiv.

Now, if a Ukrainian teacher decides to move to Belarus, it will not be so easy for him to find a job. Since the beginning of the year, we recall that 52,932 citizens of Ukraine entered Belarus, according to the Belarusian State Border Committee. 38,696 Ukrainians arrived in Belarus in transit through Poland, 12,009 through Lithuania, 2,222 through Latvia, and 5 through Ukraine. How many of these people remained in the country is not reported.

How much the new decision can complicate the lives of professors from Ukraine and why it is necessary, Belarusian political scientist Alexei Dzermant told MK:

“The fact is that the peculiarities of teaching in Ukraine have led to the fact that there is currently fighting in the country. Therefore, we must treat with certain attention those who have Ukrainian higher qualifications in the field of teaching. We should not automatically recognize them; we need to check these people in order to prevent nationalist propaganda in Belarus.

— Will this decision affect professors who already teach at Belarusian universities?

– I think not. The law does not have retroactive effect. This will not apply to those already working in the country. Moreover, most likely, they have already confirmed their qualifications in Belarus.

— How many Ukrainian citizens come to work at universities in Belarus?

— I wouldn’t call it a mass phenomenon. But the time has come to address this issue too. I don’t think this will affect many people, but of course it will affect someone.

— Was this a response to Kyiv’s actions?

– I wouldn’t say that it is so. This is precisely the question of attitude towards the ideology of Ukraine and what it led to. We need to keep this under control.