School in Barysaw charging parents for before-school care of students

Parents who have to bring their children to a school in Barysaw, Minsk region, well ahead of the start of classes have been told that they will be charged for before-school care of their children.

Parents will have to pay 2.36 rubels ($1.23) for their children’s stay at the school from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. or 1.88 rubel ($0.98) for their children’s stay from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., according to reports that have already been confirmed by the local education authorities.

While delivering his annual address to the Belarusian nation and the National Assembly on April 21, Mr. Lukashenka instructed that schools should push back their start times from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., so that students could get more sleep.

The education ministry rushed to fulfill Mr. Lukashenka's instruction. Double shift schools now start classes at 8:30 a.m. or 9 a.m. while classes at schools where students study in one shift begin at 9 a.m.

Speaking this past May, Deputy Prime Minister Vasil Zharko suggested that parents who take their children to school should ask their employers for permission to come to work later.

Commenting on reports that later start times could be an inconvenience for people taking their children to school, Mr. Zharko said, "Parents have an employer, this is a matter that should be dealt with by the employer and the worker. They should solve their issues."