The Prosecutor’s Office of Vitsyebsk Region has referred to court a criminal case against a former rector of a local university. He is charged with exceeding his official powers.
The man headed an educational institution in the agricultural sector and chaired the admissions committee. According to the prosecution, from July 2020 to September 2023, he gave his subordinates unlawful instructions.
The aim was “the fictitious fulfillment of admission targets and concealment of accurate figures on the enrollment of applicants in full-time study funded from the state budget.” Employees submitted applicants’ documents to the admissions committee, the applicants were enrolled as students and later expelled.
“As a result of the unlawful actions, at least 95 people were fictitiously enrolled in full-time higher education funded from the state budget, including as part of targeted training.
The actions of the official caused significant harm to state interests — state statistics were distorted, the state order for training personnel for the agro-industrial complex was disrupted, which exacerbated the shortage of specialists, while the personal authority of the head and the university’s reputation were also undermined,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The former rector has been charged under Part 3 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code. The actions of his subordinates were legally assessed under Part 1 of Article 427 of the Criminal Code.
The defendant remains at liberty pending trial under a personal surety.
