Resolution on Forced Graduate Employment and Restricted Student Mobility in Belarus

The European Students’ Union reaffirms that all students have the right to access quality education and to freely choose their academic and professional paths, both within and beyond their home countries. This includes the right to academic mobility and the opportunity to seek further education or employment abroad without state-imposed restrictions.

In Belarus, the government continues to implement policies that severely limit the academic and professional freedom of students. One of the most concerning practices is the system of mandatory post-graduate labour assignments (“отработки”), which requires graduates of public universities to work for state-appointed employers for up to two years after graduation, often in regions or sectors they did not choose. Historically applied to students receiving public scholarships, recent government proposals indicate that this policy may soon extend to self-funded students as well.

This policy denies graduates the freedom to pursue education or employment on their own terms, and effectively ties young professionals to the state. It is particularly harmful in the context of political repression, where many students seek to continue their education abroad in safer, more democratic environments.

Moreover, Belarusian authorities systematically restrict access to necessary documents, such as transcripts and diplomas, for students wishing to apply to universities abroad and conduct “preventive talks” with youth and their parents to prevent them going abroad to study. This practice constitutes a form of collective punishment and a violation of the right to education and mobility.

ESU believes that:

• Forced post-graduate assignments constitute a violation of students’ rights to free professional choice and academic mobility.
  
• Restricting access to academic documents as a form of political pressure is unacceptable and undermines the fundamental principles of education as a public good.
  
• Students must not be used as tools to sustain authoritarian labour policies or to control population movement.
  

Therefore, ESU:

1. Strongly condemns the practice of mandatory post-graduate labour assignments, especially the planned extension of such policies to fee-paying students in Belarus.
   
2. Denounces the use of academic documentation as a tool of political control and repression.
   
3. Calls on European higher education institutions to be aware of these restrictions and to adapt their application procedures, allowing Belarusian students to submit alternative forms of documentation or apply conditionally, especially when original diplomas or transcripts are withheld.
   
4. Urges national ministries and educational authorities across Europe to provide safe academic pathways and support (including scholarships, accelerated visa processing, and documentation waivers) for students affected by these policies.
   
5. Reaffirms the need for continuous monitoring of academic freedom violations in Belarus and elsewhere, in cooperation with student unions and civil society.
   
6. Expresses full solidarity with Belarusian students who face systematic state pressure and remain committed to pursuing education as a means of personal and societal development.

By ensuring access to education despite political repression, the European academic community defends not only the rights of individual students but also the core values of democratic, accessible, and emancipatory education.