How was the admission process for future teachers, doctors and farmers

Admission to establishments of higher education has ended. Traditionally, some programs at BSU, BSUIR and BNTU break scoring records. Among the most popular are «international law», «software engineering», «oriental studies» and others. Meanwhile, there is a shortage of teachers, doctors and farmers on the labor market. The national newspapers «Belarus Today» correspondent found out what the competition was like for applicants for these specialties, whether there were any free places and whether employer-sponsored students were in demand.

In two stages

At the Belarusian State Agrarian Technical University, the overall competition was 1.1 people per free-education place in the frame of an admission plan of 465. 1.8 people competed for a paid place. There were many fewer places for them - 46. The executive secretary of the BSATU admissions committee Karina Harkusha explains that this is due to the excitement around the specialties «Agribusiness» and «Management» where many applicants traditionally want to get into.

There was an interesting situation at the university with the employer-sponsored students. Here they were recruited in two waves.

— During the main admissions process, we recruited 116 people against the plan of 234. And since specialists are in demand in agriculture and the retention rate for employer-sponsored training is higher, it was decided to announce an additional recruitment for agricultural specialties. It was parallel to the main one. That is, employers came to our university and offered applicants to enter into a contract on employer-sponsored education. We had this practice until last year, and now we have essentially continued it as part of an additional employer-sponsored recruitment. The two-stage recruitment has its advantages, says Karina Harkusha. For example, during the first stage, greater responsibility falls on the shoulders of employers. They independently encourage the guys to conclude an agreement and come work for them in the future. But as for the second stage which is additional recruitment, here the staff customers are already dealing with the guys who came to enroll in an agricultural university for some purposes. And it’s easier for employers in a way.

— During the second stage, we recruited another 50 people. And thus, more than 70 percent of the plan for employer-sponsored education was fulfilled - this is a fairly high figure for the agricultural industry.

Interview for the national newspapers «Belarus Today»

August 18, 2023

Source: https://www.sb.by/articles/s-rukami-otorvut.html