November 29, 2011 Belarusian Ministry of Education has sent a package of application documents to the Bologna Secretariat concerning official admission to the Bologna Process.

26-27 April 2012 at the Summit of Ministers of Education of forty-seven countries that signed the Bologna Declaration, an accession of Belarus to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was to be decided.

- Adopt the European Cultural Convention;

- Commit to implementing values, objectives and key principles of the EHEA policy into its education system.

Belarus already in 1993 has ratified the European Cultural Convention. Thus, the first condition for joining the Bologna Process has been fulfilled.

However, are Belarusian authorities also eager enough to fulfill the second condition of admittance into the European Higher Education Area?

Belarusian Ministry of Education assured the Bologna Secretariat and the European Ministers of Education that our higher education is quite ready for formal membership in the European Higher Education Area.

Moreover, they claimed that since 2002 Belarus is in the process of coherent introduction of the Bologna Declaration principles. Such assessment of our higher education readiness to be included in the EHEA does not seem persuasive enough.

Therefore, a number of Belarusian experts and representatives of public organizations have decided to establish the Independent Bologna committee in order to prepare an alternative report and develop a road map of Belarusian higher education integration to the Bologna process.

Full text of an "Alternative Report" can be downloaded here.

Full text of "Road Map" can be downloaded here.