Belarusian Independent Bologna Committee is launching a series of articles with stories of fired university teachers. We cite articles in their entirety, without editing. All authors could hide the names of universities and departments for security reasons.
My dismissal for political reasons was probably the first – on September 21, 2020. But such a reason was not listed in the workbook or other documents.
On September 12, 2020, I was released from Ivanovo remand prison and after that I missed my working day - the 14th, when I was replaced by a colleague, but unofficially. BSU took advantage of this opportunity. As soon as I arrived, the dean of the Radiophysics Faculty asked me to write an explanatory note about my absence. The imprisonment itself was not taken into account, but that unofficial replacement was already a reason for dismissal.
The repressions in Belarusian Academy always had a face: might it be a rector, a dean or a proffessor responsible for the politically motivated expulsions and firings. "Student Observatory" collected the names and cases to present the Black Book in Academia.
We urge international actors: universities, research programmes, EU institutions - to implement a personal responsibility mechanisms for listed below people, excluding them from visit delegations and common projects.
Scholart At Risk published an appeal to Belarusian authorities to release detained student and stop pressure on academical community. Here we publish part of the letter:
On International Students Day the EP Education committee urges the EU universities to help Belarusian students who face persecution to pursue their studies.
By pointing to the academic freedom as core principle of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), MEPs of EP’s Culture and Education committee call to urgently address the crackdowns on Belarus university students during the upcoming EHEA Ministerial Conference on 19th November.
“We condemn the repression against students and teachers. We stand behind the persecuted students and stand for academic freedom in Belarus”, said EP Culture and Education committee chair Sabine Verheyen (EPP, DE) on Tuesday.
Culture and Education MEPs also called on all EU universities to help those Belarusian students facing persecution to pursue their studies.
Background
The peaceful participation of students in the pro-democracy movement in Belarus has led to threats of expulsion or conscription into the military. The Belarusian Students Association (ZBS) has recorded the detention of 374 students since September, with 80 sentenced to a total of 953 days of administrative arrest, and 54 fined an average of 120 EUR each ‑ almost five times the value of a monthly academic scholarship in the country.
The European Higher Education Area, coordinated by the EU Commission, includes the EU member states and other (altogether 48) countries who have subscribed to the Bologna Process, with Belarus among them. See the members here.
The National report is available by the link.
Prepared by the Belarusian Independent Bologna Committee, the Ad Hoc Committee of the Belarusian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, the Belarusian Student Association and the Youth Labour Rights
1. Qualifications Framework.
Despite the fact that the Report says about successful completion of the stage of work on the National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (HE NQF - BelQF) and the approval of the project by Minister of Education, we would like to draw attention to a very formal approach to such a serious document development:
- the status of the document is questionable, it is not even approved by Order (or Resolution), but by a simple stroke of the pen of Minister of Education, and, of course, the Minister himself proclaims his ministry as the "Republican body ... which carries out the development and management of the BelQF ..." which violates the procedural order and legislative requirements of the adoption and approval of national level documents;