The System of Education in the Republic of Belarus

The system of education in the Republic of Belarus is based on national traditions and global trends in education area. These guarantee equal access to all education stages, unification of the requirements, continuity of all training stages and state financial support.

Today Belarusian educational system includes pre-school education and up-bringing, general secondary school, vocational education, secondary special education, higher education, research education (postgraduate), adult education and staff retraining (lifelong education),special education (for people with disabilities).

Pre-school education is not compulsory in Belarus but around 70% of children attend nursery or kindergarten before they start school. These institutions are for children under six years. Children who attend kindergarten learn social skills when they play with other children and this helps to shape their personalities. Such children are better prepared for primary school. Children are taught pre-reading and pre-writing as well as basic mathematics, such as more\less, heavy\light, full\ empty and so on and the children are taught discipline. The children learn to follow a timetable and there are classroom rules which teach respect and consideration for their classmates and the teacher. The public nurseries and kindergartens are free of charge but parents should cover about 60% of the meal’s cost.

Most children in Belarus start school at the age of 6. The school year begins on 1 September for all grades and lasts thirty-four weeks; holidays take up a total of thirty calendar days. School-leaving examinations at Level II (grade 9) and at Level III (grades 10 and 11) are held in June.

School education in Belarus consists of elementary(or primary), basic and secondary school. The five-year basic secondary school is compulsory. Upon completion of grade 9 students have to take the examinations to receive the certificate of basic education. Basic school graduates can continue their studies at technicums, uchilishche and colleges, where they can get vocational training and secondary general education or they can continue their education in schools, gymnasiums or lyceums.

At the end of grade 11 (general secondary education) students sit the final examination and if successful receive the certificate of (complete) general secondary education.

Belarus has one of the highest student-to-population ratios in Europe. The higher education system in Belarus is seen as prestigious due to its high quality and affordability.

There are four main types of higher education establishments to choose from, which can be either private or state operated:

classical university,profile university or academy,institute, higher college

Most courses run for 5 years and students can choose to study full time, at evening classes or by correspondence.

Grants are available for full-time students and scholarships are awarded to very gifted students.

OUR HOUSE AND FLAT

I live in a new nine-storeyed block of flats in Pushkin street. Our flat is on the third floor. It is very comfortable. We have all modern conveniences, such as central heating, electricity, gas, cold and hot running water, a telephone and a chute. There are three rooms in our flat: a living-room, a study and a bedroom. We also have a kitchen, a bathroom, a small entrance hall and two balconies.

Our living-room is the largest in the flat. It overlooks a green park and has a lot of sunshine. The living-room is nicely furnished. There is a suite of modern furniture with a wall unit, a wardrobe and a bookcase. We are fond of books and have plenty of them at home. To the left of the wall unit there is a corner-sofa with two armchairs and a small table for newspapers. In the opposite corner there is a TV set with a video and a tape-recorder. A beautiful crystal chandelier gives much light to the room. A thick carpet on the floor and curtains on the windows match the walls. All this makes the room cosy. My mother usually buys everything for the living-room, she has a good eye and taste for colour and style.

I spend most of my time in my bedroom which I use as a study. Here you can see a writing-table where I do my homework. Near the wall there is a pull-out sofa where I sleep at night and have a rest in the day-time. There are some book-shelves crammed with text- and fiction books. There is a thick comfortable rag on the floor near the sofa. My dog likes to sleep on it.

My parents' bedroom is more spacious than the study. There is a doubltbed, a mirror-stand, two bedside tables and a built-in wardrobe there. It is very convenient to have it because it doesn't occupy much space. In the corner of the room there is a small table with a tape-recorder on it. My parents enjoy listening to music.

Our kitchen is rather large. There is a set of modern kitchen furniture, a gas-stove with an oven, a food processor, a refrigerator and a cupboard where we keep our dishes. The kitchen serves us as a dining-room. But when we receive guests we have meals in the living-room.

I like my bathroom too because it provides us with maximum of convenience and is well-fitted. There is a nice mirror, a rack for towels, a bath-tab and a basin. There is a shelf above the basin where I keep soap, toothpaste, tooth-brush, combs, creams, shampoos and make-up. It's very pleasant to have a bath or to take a shower here.

The entrance hall is small. There is a hall-stand and a mirror on the wall. A telephone is on a special table under the mirror. We try to keep our flat clean.

 

SEASONS AND WEATHER

There are four seasons in the year: winter, spring, summer and autumn. Each of them lasts three months.

Every new year begins in winter, on the first of January. This day is a holiday in our country and people decorate their flats with New Year trees.

In Belarus winter is usually a cold season. It often snows, the rivers and lakes are frozen over. The average temperature is about 5 degrees below zero. The most unpleasant thing about winter is that the sun sets early and rises, late — especially in December and January. The days are short, the sky is often grey, nature is sleeping and sometimes it gets rather boring.

But at the end of March the weather gets gradually milder. The sun shines more brightly. The days become longer, snow begins melting. Spring comes and nature awakens after a long sleep of winter. All kinds of plants and flowers (snowdrops, tulips, primeroses, etc.) come out. The grass is amazingly fresh. I can't help loving it. The birds return from the South and make their nests. They look so happy and cheerful. I feel happy with them too listening to their pleasant songs. The farmers begin the sowing campaign. They fertilize the soil, plough the fields, plant trees and vegetables. Everybody is automatically much happier in spring. You feel as if you were born anew.

Spring is followed by summer. The weather gets still warmer and sometimes it is very hot. The sky is blue and cloudless. But sometimes there are storms with thunder and lightning. The gardens are gay with flowers all summer months. The corn gets. golden in the fields. In summer people spend much time in the open air. They find time to go to the forest, to swim in the river, to sunbathe. Summer is a vacation time. I like it very much, but my favourite season is spring. As the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin said: "Oh, summer, fine! I'd love you but for the heat, the mosquitos and flies".

Autumn comes in September with the beginning of the school year. Early autumn is still the harvest time, the time when fruits and vegetables become ripe. It is also а very beautiful time of the year, when the weather is still warm and the leaves change their colour from green to yellow and red. Everything around is greenish-gold.

Late autumn is less beautiful. It gets colder, the days are shorter, in the morning it often freezes. Last leaves fall from trees and cover the ground. There's much rain and fog. Birds fly away to warm countries. Low and heavy clouds hang in the sky. The landscape gets rather dull. Nature slowly falls asleep for winter.

In fact every season has its fine days and is pleasant in its own way. And it is not difficult to see this beauty.

Great Britain

The full name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a great number of small islands. Their total area is over 314 000 sq. km. The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders on the Irish Republic in the south. The island of Great Britain consists of three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of the island), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the West) and Scotland (the northern part of the island).
There are no high mountains in Great Britain. In the north the Cheviots separate England from Scotland, the Pennines stretch down North England along its middle, the Cambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales and the Highlands of Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains. There is very little flat country except in the region known as East Anglia.
Most of the rivers flow into the North Sea. The Thames is the deepest and the longest of the British rivers. Some of the British greatest ports are situated in the estuaries of the Thames, Mersey, Trent, Tyne, Clyde and Bristol Avon. Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources, it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.
The warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain. Winters are not severely cold and summers are rarely hot. The population of the United Kingdom is over 58 million people. The main nationalities are: English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. In Great Britain there are a lot of immigrants from former British Asian and African colonies. Great Britain is a highly industrialized country. New industries have been developed in the last three decades. The main industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol. The capital of the country is London. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy.

I’d like to visit Great Britain one day to see all sightseeing I have read about, to look at Buckingham Palace, at Big Ben, to stay at Nelson’s monument at Trafalgar Square and to go on double-decker bus.

Probably, it will be a question about the most exciting present on Christmas Day.

It’s really hard to do, because Britain is rich in its historic places which link the present with the past. But if you are in London, I can advise you to start with the oldest part of London is Lud Hill, where the city is originated. About a mile west of it there is Westminster Palace, where the king lived and the Parliament met, and there is also Westminster Abbey, the coronation church. The British Museum is the largest and richest museum in the world. It was founded in 1753 and contains one of the world’s richest collections of antiquities. The Egyptian Galleries contain human and animal mummies. Some parts of Athens’ Parthenon are in the Greek section.
Madam Tussaud’s Museum is an exhibition of hundreds of life-size wax models of famous people of yesterday and today. The collection was started by Madam Tussaud, a French modeller in wax, in the 18th century. Here you can meet Marilyn Monroe, Elton John, Picasso, the Royal Family, the Beatles and many others: writers, movie stars, singers, politicians, sportsmen, etc.

Between Belarusian and British I found some common characteristics, many Belarusian people as well as many British people think of their land as great and strong and the best on the whole world. But the British can be particularly and stubbornly conservative about anything British. They are rather proud of being different. It is, for example, difficult to imagine that they will ever agree to change from driving on the left-hand side of the road to driving on the right. It doesn’t matter that nobody can think of any advantage in driving on the left. British people are obliged by society stereotyping to be polite. British do not as a rule express their real feeling. And Belarusian people are free to express their attitude, they are more sincere. But anyway, there are plenty of things that I like about British: their humour whatever it hides, I like the British breakfast, English tea, gardens, romantism and English language.

Belarus

 

Let’s talk about our country. What can you tell me about our Motherland?

Давайте поговорим о вашей стране. Что Вы можете рассказать про свою родину?

Приблизительный вариант ответа:

Belarus is my homeland. It is the place where I was born. Officially it is called the Republic of Belarus, a sovereign independent state with its own government, constitution, state emblem, flag and anthem. Belarus is a member-state of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and one of the UN (United Nations) founder-members. Its present-day population is about 10 mln people: 78% of Belarusians, 12 % of Russians, 4 % of Poles and 2 % of Ukrainians. 68 % of population live in town and cities. The territory of Belarus is divided into 6 regions: Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev. The capital of Belarus is Minsk with a population of over 1.5 mln people.

Belarus is situated nearly in the centre of European Plain. It borders on Poland in the west, the Baltic States – Lithuania and Latvia – in the north-west, on Russia in the north and east, on the Ukraine in the south.

Belarus stretches for 560 kilometers from south to north and for 650 kilometers from east to west. It occupies the territory of 207.6 thousand square kilometers. It is much larger than such countries as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Czechia and Slovakia.

There are more than 3,000 rivers in Belarus. Seven of them are more than 500 kilometres long each. They are the Dnieper, the Nioman, Western Dvina, the Prypiat, the Berezina, the Sozh, the Bug and the Vilia.

Belarus is a lake-country. There are about 10,800 lakes here. The lakes are particularly numerous in the north. The largest is Lake Naroch – 80 square kilometers. The lakes are noted for their great depth, transparent water and beautiful scenery.

A third of Belarus is under forest. The largest forests are called pushchas. For example, the Belovezhskaya and the Nalibokskaya. The Belovezhskaya Pushcha is famous for its aurochs (European bisons). Fauna is rich and diverse there: one can see elks and deer, wild boars and wolves, bears and foxes, beavers and lynxes, not mentioning myriads of birds.

Forests, pinewoods, mighty oak groves, birch groves and all sorts of other mixed forest formations are the charm, wealth and pride of our homeland.

Belarus is situated in the Temperate Zone of 200-500 kilometers away from Baltic Sea. The climate of Belarus is varies from maritime to continental due to a strong influence of the maritime air of the Atlantic. This results in temperate and mild climate.

By the way, Belarus is the country with unique history and rich cultural heritage. It is an interesting region from the tourist point of view. At the beginning of the 20^th century Belarus was a backward province of the Russian Empire – called the North-Western region. About 80 per cent of its population were illiterate. The Belarusians were not even regarded as a nation at that time. In 1919 Belarus was proclaimed the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic and 1922 became a member of the USSR. During World War II Belarus suffered greatly. It lost more than half of its national wealth. The fascists killed every fourth person living there. But despite all this, Belarus has restored its cities, rebuilt its economy.

Today Belarusian industry produces tractors, big lorries, automatic lines, refrigerators, television sets, bicycles, watches, fertilizers and textiles.

Agriculture specializes in milk and meat production. The main crops cultivated her are grain, potatoes, flax, herbs and vegetables.

Belarus is a republic of well developed science and culture. There are 37 state higher educational establishments, the Academy of Science, about 400 professional schools there. Secondary education is compulsory and free of charge.

There are three branches of state power in the Republic of Belarus – Legislative (Supreme Soviet – Верховный Совет), Executive (Council of Ministers – Совет Министров) and Judicial (Supreme Court – Верховный Суд). According to the existing constitution the head of the state is the President.

What parts of Belarus have you visited?

Какие части Беларуси Вы посещали?

I have been to Mogilev, Brest and Minsk regions. I have never been to Gomel and Grodno regions, but I have always dreamt to visit them.

What questions about Belarus do you expect to hear from a British teenager?

Какие вопросы о Беларуси Вы ожидаете услышать от британского подростка?

I suppose, British teenagers don’t know much about my country, so the questions can be very simple, such as: Where is your country situated in? What is the capital of your country? How many parts are there in your country? What are the sights of your country? Where can I go and what can I see at your country? What is the most interesting place? And so on, and so forth.

What Belarusian sights would you advise a foreigner to visit?

Какие достопримечательности Беларуси Вы посоветуете посетить иностранцу?

They say that Belarus is at the crossroads of Europe. Explain why.

Говорят, что Беларусь находится на перекрестках Европы. Объясните почему.