Belarusian state television channel STV has reported on this year’s admissions campaign for medical specialties. As previously reported, the number of places allocated to applicants with targeted employment agreements has been increased, while tuition-based places will remain only for part-time studies in pharmacy.
According to Deputy Health Minister Alena Bohdan, applicants have already obtained more targeted enrollment referrals than there are places available.
“This year we chose a different approach from previous years: we reduced tuition-based enrollment while maximizing targeted admissions. At present, every faculty has targeted enrollment opportunities. We began issuing referrals, and already now — although there is still plenty of time until the end of June — applicants have received more targeted referrals than there are admission places,” Bohdan said.
Iryna Nazarenka, rector of the Gomel State Medical University, welcomed the reduction in tuition-based places.
“I believe this is a very wise decision by the Health Ministry. Our state provides an opportunity to receive a high-quality medical education free of charge through the expansion of targeted admissions and an increase in the number of state-funded places. This allows our highly motivated applicants to compete on equal terms for admission to medical universities without worrying that tuition-based places will go to other institutions or that additional tuition-based places will be taken by Russians, because they usually occupied those places as well. This way, the places will be available for our citizens of the Republic of Belarus,” Nazarenka said.
Bohdan rejected suggestions that the reduction in tuition-based places was motivated by a desire to bind future doctors to mandatory job placements. According to her, only a small number of self-funded graduates choose to forgo state job assignments.
“You see, if graduates of tuition-based programs did not accept job placements and did not spend two years working under assignment… We have a tiny number of people who take unrestricted diplomas today. Do you understand? That’s the first point. Second, we increased the number of places by more than 700. Do you want a state-funded place? Please, apply for one. Do you want a targeted placement? Then obtain a targeted referral,” Bohdan said.
Nazarenka confirmed that of nearly 500 graduates of Gomel State Medical University, only one self-funded student chose an unrestricted diploma.
Bohdan emphasized that the quality of education is the same regardless of whether a student studies on a tuition-based or state-funded basis.
“We will work through this year, we will conduct our admissions campaign, and we will see the results. But in reality, the quality of teaching does not depend on whether you pay tuition or study free of charge, whether you are enrolled in a state-funded program or in a faculty attended by foreign students,” she said.
