Belarus, Nicaragua set to bolster cooperation in education
MINSK, 18 October (BelTA) – Belarus’ Education Minister Igor Karpenko met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Denis Moncada Colindres of Nicaragua on 18 October, BelTA has learned.
“We have options to develop cooperation in education. Our regulatory framework lets us train students from foreign countries with the help of Belarus’ resources. Our diplomatic missions abroad in cooperation with the governments of these countries decide which students can come to study. Applications from these countries are submitted before the start of each year. One of the conditions is the knowledge of the Russian language. Now we are amending the law a bit. Starting from next year, we will accept citizens with the possibility to learn the Russian language here, and then receive a specific specialty. In total, we allocate 100 grants a year to all countries. The interests of Belarus and Nicaragua are represented by our embassy in Ecuador,” said Igor Karpenko.
According to him, Belarus is also ready to provide fee-paying education to students from Nicaragua. “Here we can accept students for English and Russian language courses. You just need to understand what specialties you are interested in and what kind of specialists your country needs. We can clarify in working order the possible forms of training and its cost. There is also a flexible system of discounts. Students, who study in Belarus, may work in the chosen specialty and thus get practical skills,” the minister said.
According to Igor Karpenko, about 27,000 students from 109 countries study in Belarus today. “We have a good campus – Student Village, which was built following the president’s instruction. These are comfortable rooms for two people with everything they need. We support all the initiatives of international students who would like to learn more about the country, organizing excursions and holding various events. We welcome direct contracts between universities. They help establish a more practical contact. This may include student exchanges for internships or various academic studies. We have been actively developing joint training programs with the issuance of double diplomas. We offer various internships and master’s degrees. We are ready to work in this direction,” he stressed.
