Further Education in the Republic of Belarus

The vocational and technical education is one of the critical components of the national education system intended for forming an accessible, open and continuously developing system and allowing the economy and social/cultural sphere to fully meet the needs in qualified workers and employees.

In 2004 231 vocational and technical institutions of education trained 125 thousand students in Belarus. The students are trained in more than 300 professions. In the majority of institutions of education students are given instructions both in professional and

general educational disciplines. Only 5% of students being trained within the basic education system are not provided with the general secondary education. 57% of the institutions of education train, retrain and upgrade the qualification of the adult population.

Currently, the vocational and technical institutions of education are changing over to training versatile workers of integrated professions simultaneously phasing out training of single-profession workers.

To improve the vocational and technical education system and integrate it in the specialized secondary education, 54 vocational and technical colleges combining vocational/technical and specialized secondary education were set up. 43 vocational lyceums provide general education and vocational training at a higher level.

Specialized secondary education. 140 public and 10 private specialized secondary institutions of education are currently available in Belarus (among them technical schools, vocational schools, colleges). 5 higher colleges, 54 vocational and technical colleges and 6 education and pedagogical centres based on the general education schools train specialists with the specialized secondary education.

The specialized secondary institutions of education train almost 160 thousand students including 116 thousand full-time students. The students are trained in over 150 specialities and 300 majors for all sectors of the national economy.

Special attention is paid to the development of a new type of specialized secondary institutions of education — colleges — to provide an advanced specialised theoretical and practical training of students. College students may master several majors within one speciality. That allows them to adapt to the professional sphere in the labour market. The college graduates may enter the higher institutions of education and receive a higher education within a shorter period of time.

10. Pronunciation

Circle the word in each line which has a different vowel sound. Listen to the teacher and check your answers.

1) master market major advanced

2) labour retrain upgrade majority

3) discipline employee receive need

4) economy college worker qualified

11. Word Study

A. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

vocational and technical education; meet the needs, qualified workers and employees; institution of education; educational discipline; basic education system; to retrain and upgrade the qualification; specialized secondary education; versatile workers; integrated professions; single-profession workers; an advanced training; to master several majors; labour market; college graduates; within a shorter period of time.

B. First, match the words and expressions with their meanings.
Then, supply the sentences with these words. If necessary, change
their grammatical forms.

1) versatile	a) a ... course teaches the skills necessary
2) advanced	for a particular job
3) retrain	b) easy for anyone to obtain
4) labour market	c) to provide what is needed
5) accessible	d) to learn or to teach someone new skills
6) integrated	that are needed for a job
7) vocational	e) to improve the quality
8) upgrade	f) having a wide range of different skills
9) meet the needs	and abilities
10) master (v)	g) combining things or ideas of different
	types in one effective unit, group, or
	system
	h) at a high academic level
	i) to learn something thoroughly so that
	you know it or can do it very well
	j) the number of people who are available
	to work, considered together with all the
	available jobs

1. Staff are being ... to use the new equipment. 2. We want this college to ... of all its students. 3. Workers of integrated professions are more ..., that's why we prefer them to single-profession employees.

4. There's been a fall in the number of young people entering the ... .

5. Is it possible to ... accountancy in three months? 6. She is an ... learner of English, she studies the subject at a difficult level. 7. The

system has been ... to meet customers' needs. 8. You haven't got the required ... education to do the job. 9. Their goal was to make adult education more ... . 10. This is a modern, ... approach to learning based on all-round education.

12. Grammar Focus

A. Find sentences in the text with the infinitive in the function
of an adverbial modifier of purpose. Translate the sentences.

B. Finish the sentences with the infinitive in the function of an
adverbial modifier of purpose.

1. 1 entered the college to ... . 2. Educational institutions are being modernized to ... . 3. A 10-grade assessment system has been introduced to ... . 4. To run your business well you must .... 5. To become a well-qualified worker one must ... . 6. The qualification of the adult population must be continuously upgraded in order to ... . 7. Colleges have been set up to .... 8. To adapt to the professional sphere in the labour market college students ... . 9. English will be required in my future profession in order to ... . 10. I need to improve my language skills in order to ... .

Diving Deeper

Give detailed answers to the following questions.

1. Why is the vocational and technical education a critical component of the national education system? 2. What knowledge do students get at vocational and technical institutions of education? 3. What changes are taking place at vocational and technical institutions of education? 4. What was done to improve the vocational and technical education system? 5. How many specialized secondary institutions of education are there in Belarus? 6. How many students study at specialized secondary institutions of education? 7. Why are colleges paid special attention to?

14. Speaking

Prove the statements using the information from the text.

• The vocational and technical education is an important component of the national education system.

• College students get all-round education.

• Much attention is paid to the improvement of the vocational and technical education system.

• Specialized secondary education is well-developed in Belarus.

• Colleges are an important type of specialized secondary institutions of education.

15. Role-Playing

You are in Great Britain, and you are invited to visit a Teachers' Training College. Future teachers want to know how the system of education in your country functions. Tell them about the peculiarities of the vocational, technical and specialized secondary education in Belarus.

16. General Comprehension

Read the following article and think of a suitable title for each paragraph.

Minsk State Trade College

1)__________________

Minsk State Trade College was founded in 1957. Today it is one of

the largest secondary special educational establishments in our republic

which trains personnel for home trade.

2) ____________________

Originally, the college was called Specialised Secondary School of Soviet Trade. It was opened when our country needed specialists in trade and public catering, and had 210 students at the full-time department and 150 at the correspondence department. Today the college has more than 2,000 students who want to acquire knowledge in different fields of activity. In 2002 the college celebrated its 45th anniversary. During these years, about 35,000 of qualified specialists graduated from it. Many of them continued their education at universities, and now they are occupying managerial positions in different spheres of activity.

3) ____________________

At first there were only 2 departments in the college: Commercial Activity Dpt. and Cooking Technology Dpt. In 1980 Law Dpt. was opened and in 1982 Accounting Dpt. was established. Nowadays the college trains personnel in 4 majors. Education can be acquired free

or on a fee-paying base, either by correspondence or in full-time department.

4)__________________

Students study for 3—4 years. They can not just get theoretical knowledge but also do practical work at trade enterprises and public catering establishments. The academic year begins on the 1 st of September and finishes in July. It consists of 2 terms. Students have end-of-the-term exams in January and in June. After each term students have 2-week holidays in winter and 2-month holidays in summer.

5)__________________

The college possesses the necessary technical base: 32 classrooms, laboratories, a library with a reading hall, 2 gyms, and a canteen. Here one can have a rest over a cup of tea or enjoy a tasty meal. There is a students' hostel near the college where residents of other towns live.

6)__________________

The college has its own traditions and holidays. The cultural life is varied and interesting. Both teachers and students take an active part in it. The week of Accountancy, Technology, Commercial Activity, Mathematics, English, German, Economics, etc. are organized here regularly. One can attend different concerts and competitions of the member-teams of the Club of the Witty and Merry, read students' newspaper "MGTK Vestnik". College has its own anthem and emblem. And at the beginning of every academic year new students take an oath swearing to be diligent students, to respect teachers and to protect the glory and honour of the college.

Word Study

A. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

home trade; public catering; commercial activity; technology of cooking; instruction by correspondence; end-of-the-term exams; technical base; academic year; anthem and emblem; glory and honour; to celebrate the 45th anniversary; to train personnel in 3 majors; a gym; a canteen.

B. Give English equivalents to the word combinations:

дневное отделение; заочное отделение; занимать руководящую должность; юридический факультет; получить образование на бесплатной / платной основе; проходить практику; давать клятву; сфера деятельности; закончить университет; торговое предприятие.

C. Find words and expressions in the text with the following
meanings:

1) a student's main subject at college; 2) a large hall or room with special equipment for doing physical exercises; 3) the activities of buying and selling goods or services within the borders of the country; 4) the official song of a particular country or organization that people sing on special occasions; 5) an object that is a symbol of something such as a country or organization; 6) a room in a factory, school, or hospital where cheap meals are served; 7) a date on which something special or important happened in a previous year.

D. Explain in English the meaning of the following words and
word combinations:

the full-time department; the correspondence department; the academic year; technical base; end-of-the-term exams; a students' hostel; free education; on a fee-paying base; department.

78. Diving Deeper

Answer the following questions.

1. When was Minsk State Trade College founded? 2. What kind of educational establishment is it and what specialists does it train? 3. What is the history of the college? 4. How successful are the graduates of the college? 5. How many departments are there today?

6. What are the different options of getting education at the college?

7. Do the students acquire only theoretical knowledge? 8. How can you describe the academic year at college? 9. What can you say about the technical base of the college? 10. How do the college students spend their spare time? 11. What oath do new students take at the beginning of the academic year?

Role-Playing

You are a student of MSTC and have just met a friend who would like to enter this college. Your friend knows very little about students' life and wants to know more about it. Be ready to answer your friend's questions and tell him / her what it's like to study at your college.

Writing

Write an essay on the topic: "The Educational Establishment I Study At".