"He probably lives in a parallel universe." Minister Ivanets' advice caused a storm of reactions

A recent interview with Minister of Education Andrei Ivanets sparked strong emotions among Belarusian parents and students. The head of the department stated that he categorically disapproves of tutor services, considering the school curriculum so simple that any father or mother is capable of helping their child independently. Moreover, the minister emphasized: his own children do not attend additional tutors, and this is his principled position.

A video clip with these statements gained almost half a million views on TikTok in a day, gathering over 1600 comments.

The first thing that interested internet users was the conditions in which the minister's own children study.

The most popular remark, garnering over 8 thousand likes, was: "apparently, his children are in private school".

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In response, others skeptically added: "his children do not plan to study in Belarus".

The degree of dissatisfaction with the ministry's work proved so high that the question "When will he be removed from office?" came in second place in popularity (almost 6 thousand likes).

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People also subtly mocked Ivanets: "How long did the minister work in school in his time?" The fact is that Alexander Lukashenka's appointee never worked in a school for a single day.

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The general mood of the commentators can be described with one phrase: "He probably lives in a parallel universe."

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Belarusians are convinced that the school, not the parents, should be responsible for the educational process:

"So what does the teacher do at work then?";

"Or maybe teachers should start teaching, instead of shifting everything onto parents."

"There's even a song like that: they learn at school, parents shouldn't have to help."

"It seems to me that teachers should help with homework, and if children don't understand, then it's a question for those who teach them."

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Who should feed, and who should teach?

According to the majority, the parents' task is to provide for the child's basic needs and mental well-being, not to perform the functions of teachers in all subjects.

"Parents live at work to support their family," users write. This idea is further developed by others:

"Yes, wait, the teacher's job is to teach, my job is to dress, feed, raise an emotionally stable and mentally balanced person, advise in life how to do things, but TEACHING is the DOMAIN OF THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION!"

"A parent should ensure the child is cheerful, polite, well-fed, and neatly dressed. EDUCATION IS THE PREROGATIVE OF THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION."

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There was also irony directed at the minister himself:

"And ministers, probably, will go to work instead of parents, and also deal with household matters."

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Users also draw attention to the competence of parents in areas they themselves have not studied or have long forgotten.

"Yes, yes, parents will help with a foreign language they haven't studied, and not only that."

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Students themselves joined the discussion:

"I don't think parents want to help us with homework after work."

"My parents work 12 hours a day, they only have enough time and energy to ask me how my day went."

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"Brains are boiling"

If the curriculum is "simple" for the minister, then those who deal with modern textbooks daily question the adequacy of the educational materials:

"Has he ever picked up a textbook?"

"The minister is just like the school curriculum."

"Graduated in 2005. Now it's 2026, my daughter is going to 9th grade. Question: Do I remember what was in the school curriculum when it changes every year?"

Commentators share their own experiences:

"My granddaughter read a history aloud... I only endured one paragraph!!!! My brain was boiling, it was so convoluted, so twisted... We used to learn dates and history, but now it's just......"

"You haven't read math yet. That's where everything explodes. And I naively thought I knew math," another commentator remarks.

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Systemic crisis

Some commentators look at the problem deeper, linking the state of education to the general political situation in the country. For them, the minister's words are just the tip of the iceberg:

"Belarusian education is at rock bottom. A reform is needed, and a very serious one. It has turned into some exhausting torture for children and parents. Individuality, creativity are being killed; this is no longer an education system, but a regime. Children hate school."

At the same time, people also sympathize with the teachers themselves, who have become hostages of the system:

"You cannot imagine how much teachers and school administration suffer from the ministry and such ministers!"

"As everywhere in such organizations in Belarus, it's order after order, inspection after inspection. There's no time to work, teachers are also hostages of this regime."

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Are there those who agree?

To be fair, it should be noted that there were also those who supported the minister's opinion. However, such voices remained in the clear minority:

"Well, in some ways he's right, education isn't that complicated, of course, there are difficult topics, but if you can't understand something, you can do it without tutors, just with your parents, or even one video on YouTube is enough."

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