Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Science and Education, Pavel Tereshkovich, addresses Belarusians on Teacher’s Day:
“Today, teachers across Belarus are receiving congratulations on the eve of Teacher’s Day, which is celebrated on Sunday. Teacher’s Day is not only a professional holiday with bouquets of flowers, and greetings from parents and children. It is also a moment for reflection – who is the teacher in Belarus today? This profession plays a decisive role in the economic success, well-being, and security of society. Schools can only lay the foundation for this if they nurture individuals capable of making independent decisions and thinking critically and creatively. But is that possible in Belarus today?
The regime’s ideologues have declared that ‘a teacher is the president’s person’. The state systematically destroys education in the Belarusian language, has allowed military training programs, militaristic camps, and military and patriotic classes. I understand how difficult it is today to be a teacher in Belarus. You are burdened with endless reporting, excessive workloads, and government control. More than 6,000 teachers have lost their jobs due to repression, over 50 have endured the hell of torture in prisons and labor camps, and some remain behind bars.
Today, I want to express my sincere gratitude to those who, despite these conditions, have preserved their professional dignity. In the future free Belarus, we will make every effort to ensure that education and science become the foundation of the country’s development, and that teachers are independent individuals whose profession will be among the most respected and prestigious in society”.
