Exams for schoolchildren and for the deputy Prime Minister have begun in Belarus.

On Monday, the first centralized exam (CE) in a subject of your choice was held in Belarus. And on Thursday, graduates take the second exam in Belarusian or Russian. The authorities are paying increased attention to these tests after the scoring system caused serious dissatisfaction among both graduates and their parents two years ago. This year, Natalia Petkevich, the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs, is overseeing the process. Analysts are closely following her career and believe that the president expects a “miracle” from her.

It is a crucial and nervous period for graduates in Belarus. On Monday, they passed the first centralized exam (CEE) in their chosen subject, and on Thursday they had the second in Belarusian or Russian. The centralized exam is a form of final assessment of eleventh graders. She combines graduation and entrance exams. The CE was introduced in 2023 on the initiative of the Minister of Education. Prior to that, eleventh graders took mandatory final exams, and upon admission to the university, they took CT (centralized testing). But officials decided to simplify the system.

However, two years ago, when the new option was used for the first time, it turned out that, on the contrary, it was complicated. The scoring system turned out to be incomprehensible to graduates and their parents, which caused a wave of indignation on social networks. President Alexander Lukashenko promptly intervened and demanded that everything be quickly simplified and recalculated. Which was done. Since then, the authorities have been paying increased attention to the examination process.

Andrei Strigelsky, Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee, told BelTA: “By decree of the head of state, a state commission has been established to monitor the organization of the entrance campaign. I am a member of it and at the same time the chairman of this commission. 1,967 students from 36 educational institutions of the Moskovsky district of Minsk will be trained at the Belarusian State Pedagogical University CE. The members of the state commission have worked out all the issues related to the organization and conduct of the exam.”

But the attention of one deputy chairman of the Minsk city Executive Committee was not enough. Natalia Petkevich, the Deputy Prime Minister appointed to this post, got personally acquainted with the organization of the centralized examination at BSPU. And this is quite significant. Upon taking office, the official admitted that the new post was a surprise to her. After all, she moved to him from the position of first deputy head of the presidential administration, where she worked for less than a year.

“This is a challenge, a definite challenge, because it’s not just a social sphere (education, healthcare, culture) – it’s a huge economy. The President has set great goals and has high hopes for results,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. “The social block is the most important thing for our people. In a socially oriented state, and taking into account the demands that the president makes to protect the interests of our citizens, this is, of course, the most important topic.”

Analysts evaluate this appointment in different ways. Petkevich has a rich past in the corridors of power. And political scientist Valery Karbalevich recalls, for example, that she, as he puts it, once “fell into disgrace.” The expert writes on one of the opposition Internet resources: “In 2010, when she also held the position of first deputy head of the presidential administration, she was responsible for ideology and failed the 2010 presidential campaign. Those elections ended with a mass protest, a crackdown, the arrest of 7 out of 10 presidential candidates, and a break with the West. The tactics of registering all opposition candidates, from the point of view of the authorities, turned out to be erroneous. Since Natalia Petkevich and the head of Belteleradiocompany, Alexander Zimovsky, resigned immediately after the elections, it can be assumed that they were appointed responsible.”

Based on past episodes, Karbalevich believes that this time she failed to cope with her tasks in the administration. Economic analyst Sergei Chaly, on the other hand, is confident that Lukashenko has high hopes for her figure. “What she represents could be understood from the moment she returned to the administration. Lukashenko has been looking for a man who will do a miracle for him for a long time. A magic wand. Come on, save me where I’m in trouble. At that time, he was having a bad time with foreign policy, and he thought that it would improve relations with the United States. Obviously, she had not achieved any goal and could not achieve it. After all, despite all efforts, the conversation with Lukashenko has not changed: you know the conditions, there will be nothing new, yes, we are ready to buy out individual political prisoners, but then the ball is on your side. That is, the procedure is known.”

This time, according to the expert, “Petkevich is once again working as a magic wand.” Chaly claims: “We see that Lukashenko is losing society. You can see it in everything, including the tiktoks he remembered.”

Indeed, the president recently called for new chairmen of the district executive committees.: “You are my face on the ground. All your mistakes are projected onto the president. Read TikTok, social media. Did you do or decide something wrong somewhere?: “Here’s the president, we need to go to him! What he doesn’t see there is…”

Chaly interprets the situation as follows: “We see a mechanism of social contagion. At first, people recorded appeals directly to Lukashenka. And now they complain about everything: potatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, butter…

Why is this happening in hospitals? And this happens in clinics? Why is it so expensive at the water park? And Petkevich was thrown into a social camp – come on, save him.”