Streamline, a major private foreign language school based in Minsk, was recently announced to be closing. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Education and Science, Tatiana Shchyttsova, highlights four main reasons why the Lukashenka regime may have forced it to shut down:
1️⃣ Strong reputation and leadership in educational projects in Belarus. The authorities strive to prevent the growth of independent companies, especially in the field of education.
2️⃣ A large teaching staff and the school’s independent status. The Lukashenka regime could not control the school’s academic community.
3️⃣ Lack of control over student enrollment, communication, and mobility. It was a space for people seeking modern education and open intercultural communication to meet and interact.
4️⃣ A barrier to emigration, including that of the potential workforce.
Tatiana Shchyttsova: “The authorities continue to pressure independent educational institutions, limiting opportunities for widespread foreign language learning outside their control and hindering the development of free intellectual communities”.
