An ever smaller proportion of school graduates choose Belarusian language for CT. If 20 years ago almost half took it, now — only one in six

Illustrative photo. Photo: BelTA

Until 2023, two different systems existed in Belarus: all eleventh-graders took graduation exams in schools (including writing a retelling in language), and for those entering higher education, taking the CT in Belarusian or Russian language (of their choice) was mandatory. Only in 2023 were these tests combined into a single Centralized Exam (CE).

Since 2023, the centralized exam has become a mandatory graduation assessment for all eleventh-graders, where everyone must choose one of the two state languages. These are two completely different cohorts: self-selected applicants versus a complete cross-section of graduates.

And within the era of CT, there is another turning point — 2017, when it became possible to take four subjects instead of three, and applicants began taking both languages for backup. Therefore, all figures can only be put in a row with these caveats.

Павялічыць

The share of Belarusian language among those who took one of the two state languages for CT (2008–2022) and CE (2023–2026). In the period from 2017 to 2022, a clear plateau is visible, caused by the introduction of the rule on the fourth subject. Photo: Nasha Niva

Real decline: 2008–2016

In the late 2000s, almost half of applicants chose the Belarusian language for CT. In CT-2008, about 69 thousand took Belarusian compared to 107 thousand for Russian (39.2%), in 2009 — 65 thousand against 110 thousand (37.1%), in 2010 — 66 thousand against 105 thousand (38.7%).

Then the decline began. In 2016, the indicator reached its then-minimum — 22 thousand against 78 thousand (22.3%). This was a real demographic-cultural shift: the Belarusian language in CT lost more than a third of its audience in just five years.

Павялічыць

Number of applicants who took Russian and Belarusian languages for CT in 2008-2022, and the share of Belarusian. Photo: Nasha Niva

2017 jump and plateau

In 2017, the share of Belarusian suddenly bounced from 22% to 27% and then held at about a quarter of applicants for six years. The temptation to read this as a revival of interest in the Belarusian language is great — but the reason is more pragmatic.

In early 2017, changes to the Admission Rules allowed applicants to take a fourth subject instead of three (optional, admission remained based on three), and the validity period of certificates was extended to two years. A "free slot" appeared, and many added Belarusian language as an easy additional certificate that did not require much effort.

It is indicative that the total number of applicants that year even fell — about 92 thousand compared to 100 thousand a year earlier. That is, Belarusian grew not due to an influx of new people, but due to redistribution: the same applicants began taking more subjects. In subsequent years, this pragmatic strategy became the norm and maintained a defined plateau.

Павялічыць

Number of applicants who took each language for CT. Belarusian plummeted by 2016, then had a short surge in 2017 due to the introduction of the rule on the fourth subject. Photo: Nasha Niva

If you look not at the share, but at absolute figures, it is clear that Belarusian also fell in absolute terms throughout this time — from 28 thousand in 2017 to 18 thousand in 2022. The "plateau" held only in percentages, because the mass of those who took the Russian language collapsed even faster in these years — from 78 thousand to 50 thousand. And the overall decline occurred due to the demographic pit.

Павялічыць

From 2008–2022, the total mass of applicants fell from 176 thousand to 68 thousand. Photo: Nasha Niva

2023 collapse

After 2023, the share of Belarusian again went down, breaking the previous bottom. But even this collapse is not about language choice, but about the cohort itself changing. With the introduction of the CE, every graduate, not just motivated applicants, is obliged to take a language. In the first year of CE, 21.6% chose Belarusian, in 2024 — 20.7%, in 2025 — 18.9%, and in 2026 — 17.7%: 10,417 people against 48,456.

Comparing this share directly with CT data is impossible — as we wrote above, these are different populations of people. Nevertheless, for the new CE era, the picture is uniform and the trend is unambiguous: for four consecutive years, the share of Belarusian has been decreasing.

If you strip the figures of the influence of reforms — the 2017 jump from the fourth subject and the fundamental shift of 2023 — a simple fact remains. Two decades ago, Belarusian and Russian were chosen for the main exam in roughly comparable proportions. Today — one to five. Sharp shifts in the graphs are explained by changes in rules, but the overall direction is singular — downwards.

• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0