Digital Skills and Online Learning in Belarus
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DIGITAL FACTSHEET 2020 DIGITAL SKILLS AND ONLINE LEARNING IN BELARUS DIGITAL SKILLS FOR VET STUDENTS ICT Qualifications Council: Policies, strategies, initiatives, practices A bridge between the labour Neither the Code of Education of the Republic of Belarus (2011) nor the market and the VET system amendments to the code (2018) include the terms digital skills and/or The Qualifications Council for ICT and the competences. Article 18 of the code1 and the Concept of Continuous communications industries has been in Education of Children and Young Students (20152) introduce the concept operation in Belarus since 2018. of an ‘information culture’. This covers quite a few competence areas of the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp 2.0)3 – The Сouncil performs a number the ability to store and use information based on information and of tasks including: monitoring the communication technology competence (ICT competence) and critical need for qualified personnel in the thinking. Other components of the concept include the ability ‘to create an information product’, information protection skills and the ability to field of ICT; developing proposals minimise health risks while using ICTs4.The concept specifies various for the improvement of the legal aspects of the information culture for VET students: regulation of the national framework of qualifications mechanisms to advance • professional information skills; the interaction between the education system and employers; organising • participation in the creation and operation of the educational cooperation between public authorities, institution’s media; employers (employer associations), trade unions, academics, research • ability to counteract negative socio-psychological effects when and educational organisations; and working with information5,6. developing the mechanisms and tools for the assessment and certification of The importance of digital skills and competences (DSC), or the qualifications. information culture, for all levels of education is highlighted in the State Programme for the Development of the Digital Economy and the A draft professional standard for a tester Information Society for 2016–20207 and in the Strategy of Informatisation was developed. This formed the basis for of the Republic of Belarus for 2016–2022. The latter stipulates the updating the content of IT training. necessity of ensuring the modernisation of VET qualifications ‘with the purpose of training workers and ICT specialists for jobs in various www.mpt.gov.by/sites/default/files/ 8 branches of the economy that do not require higher education’ . polozhenie_o_sektoralnom_sovete_ kvalifikaciy.doc 1 https://edu.gov.by/sistema-obrazovaniya/glavnoe-upravlenie-obshchego-srednego-doshkolnogo-i-spetsialnogo-obrazovaniya/doshkolnoe-obrazovanie/ normativnye-pravovye-akty/kodeksy-respubliki-belarus/ 2 www.bsmu.by/downloads/otdeli/vospitanie/2016/koncepciya.pdf 3 https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp 4 www.bsuir.by/m/12_100229_1_106130.pdf 5 www.bsmu.by/downloads/otdeli/vospitanie/2016/koncepciya.pdf 6 Key definitions in the sphere of digitalisation in general are provided in the the Law on Information, Informatisation and Information Protection (2008), www.pravo.by/document/?guid=3871&p0=H10800455 7 www.government.by/upload/docs/file4c1542d87d1083b5.PDF 8 http://nmo.basnet.by/concept/strategia2022.php 1 DIGITAL FACTSHEET 2020 One of the key tasks of the ‘Conceptual Approaches to the Development of the Educational System of the Republic of Belarus up to 2020 and for the Prospect of 2030’ is the digital transformation of the education sector. Civil society and business This will include the enhancement of the ICT structure of educational make their input into the DSC institutions and the deployment of a multimedia platform to ensure the availability of educational content for all participants in the education framework 9 process . Within the framework of the project Improving the ICT and lifelong learning skills of all the participants in the ‘Promoting the formation of an agenda education process is stated as one of the priorities in the E-school sub- and institutional prerequisites for programme of the State Programme for the Development of the Digital strengthening digital competences in Economy and the Information Society for 2016–202010. Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia’, funded by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society VET students currently acquire general skills and competences related Forum, the economic potential of the to DigComp 2.0 through a compulsory applied informatics course (from digital skills transformation was explored, 33 to 55 teaching hours per academic year, depending on the level of the European digital skills framework for education)11. ICT professionals was popularised and ‘As a result of studying the subject “applied informatics”, the student key guiding documents were translated must: understand the role and significance of information resources and and presented to the stakeholders. modern computer and telecommunication systems in the development of society and production; be able to purposefully work with information https://eap-csf.eu/digital-competencies/ and use information computer technologies to receive, process and transmit information; use effective methods of searching for information on the internet; evaluate the accuracy of information by comparing various sources; create and edit documents of a complex structure; use acquired knowledge and skills in professional activities. The standard programme includes three major topics: “information resources in professional activities”, “e-documents and methods for processing them”, “information technologies in professional activities”’12. Both the technical VET (TVET) and secondary VET (SVET)13 curriculum for some specialised educational fields includes a compulsory information technology (IT) course (50–96 teaching hours per academic year, depending on specialisation)14. The standard programme includes three major topics: the subject area of activity and its information support, business information processing standards and software applications in professional activities15. ‘As a result of studying the discipline, students should have a general understanding of information technologies development trends; foundations of construction, development prospects of local and global computer networks, network information processing technologies; presentation methods and processing technology, storage and transmission information; personal computer software classification; 9 http://world_of_law.pravo.by/text.asp?RN=U617E2847 10 www.government.by/upload/docs/file4c1542d87d1083b5.PDF 11 http://ripo.unibel.by/assets/site/pto/protect/pr_inform.rar 12 For the sake of accuracy, a word-for-word translation is suggested. See the original text at: http://ripo.unibel.by/assets/site/pto/protect/pr_inform.rar 13 TVET includes vocational technical school (PTU) training, which provides a certificate of professional qualification (one–two years) and a vocational training and general secondary education diploma (three years). Lyceums provide three-year training programmes for in-depth technical and vocational education and a diploma in vocational and general secondary education, by assigning the appropriate qualifications. Vocational and technical colleges provide four types of programmes: a vocational education programme with a certificate of professional qualification; a vocational education programme with a diploma in vocational training and general secondary education; a training programme focused on secondary special education; and a secondary special education programme integrated with the vocational education programme, with a diploma awarding the qualification of technician. SVET includes technical colleges which provide secondary vocational education, issuing a diploma or qualification (technician level), and complete secondary general education. For details, see the Code of Education, chapters 28 and 29. 14 https://tinyurl.com/y9cbtzwh 15 For the sake of accuracy, a word-for-word translation is suggested. See the oiginal text at: https://tinyurl.com/yay7thhf 2 DIGITAL FACTSHEET 2020 numerical methods for solving applied problems and mathematical modelling principles for applied problems; rules for using the hardware and software of a personal computer, systems and networks; the purpose and capabilities of graphic and text editors, spreadsheets and database management systems for creating technological documentation used in professional activities; information protection methods. They should be able to use standard and application software for personal computers; apply modern methods of computer-aided design; create electronic documents; search for information on the internet; and use e-mail and modern information technology’. Recently, in cooperation with the Belarus High-Tech Park, the Republican Institute for Vocational Education (RIVE) updated programmes for eight ICT-related specialties and introduced a new one (computer graphics) for the professional specialty ‘software development’16. A strategy to improve the national qualifications system was adopted by the Council of Ministers in 201817. Prior to that, the ‘Employment and vocational education and training in Belarus’ project (which was scheduled to run from 30 March 2017 to 29 March 2021 and was funded by the EU in the amount of EUR 5 400 000) had been launched. The project is aimed at adapting the VET system to labour market needs. VET colleges in Minsk and the Minsk