"Roll call every three hours." In "Novaya Baravaya," parents stood in a huge queue by the school walls
On Friday, June 12, schools and gymnasiums began accepting documents from parents of future first-graders. To submit applications to School No. 2 in the village of Kopishche (Novaya Baravaya), parents began queuing several days in advance, and conducted roll calls every three hours, writes Onliner.by.
"Already on Wednesday evening, lists began to be formed near School No. 2 for submitting applications for enrollment in the 1st grade," says Maryna, mother of a future first-grader (name changed). "Before this, at the meeting, we were told that not everyone would be admitted to the school, but only 215 people, and even fewer for the after-school program – 200. The rest would be directed to Baraulyany or elsewhere."
As the reader explained, there was no such rush at School No. 1, as it has fewer addresses assigned to it among the residents of the microdistrict. "Almost all of 'Novaya Baravaya' went to School No. 2," says the mother.
Parents who wanted to be sure that their child would attend a school near home began creating lists.
As "Minskaya Prauda" wrote, about 150 people gathered near the school every three hours. On the last day, the duty was supposed to be round-the-clock. Mikolaj Bashko, head of the main education department of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee, arrived for one of the roll calls. Parents were offered to stand guard by the school walls, but not with the full group, but in "organized groups."
"By morning, gather all together and tell other parents that you have taken a place in the queue and there are more than 100 people ahead of you," suggested Mikolaj Bashko.
At 8 AM on June 12, a huge queue was already standing by the school walls. It started on the street, and the commission accepted documents not in offices, but in the sports hall. The school principal stated that this year the administration would accept 275 applications and provide after-school care for 230 children.
The article does not state how many applicants were ultimately accepted for these places.
"Stood in line for more than seven hours"
The reader said she didn't have the opportunity to mark herself on the lists in advance. She arrived at the school walls at 9 AM on June 12 and was already "number 22..." in line, meaning she had to wait for more than 200 people.
"When I spoke to people in the queue this morning, they said that some even spent the night outside the school. Initially, they agreed to mark attendance every hour, but then decided it would be every three," the reader asserts. Maryna submitted her documents today at 3:45 PM, meaning she stood in line for more than seven hours. She says there were still people behind her – "about 15-20 people."
— Did everyone who wanted to manage to enroll their child?
"It's unclear for now, they're saying different things. Personally, we haven't been told anything yet, no forecasts or promises. The issue here is not only getting into school according to registration but also the after-school program. We cannot be without it, as both of us work and there's another child who attends kindergarten. If we don't get into the extended-day group, then the only option is to quit our jobs to pick up the child from school at 12 PM. For the after-school program, I was 190th in line, but there are preferential categories who can come until the end of August…"
The school's website published enrollment figures — 215 places. According to data for the evening of June 12, a total of 281 applications had been submitted, with no free places remaining.