MINSK - Belarus took steps on Thursday to prevent a brain drain from the isolated former Soviet republic by forcing young Belarusians to come home after taking a university course abroad.
Foreign universities that take in Belarusian students will be obliged to sign an agreement saying the students will return at a date agreed in advance, according to Deputy Education Minister Tatiana Kovaleva.
Under the measures announced Thursday, students wishing to enroll abroad will be asked to choose from a limited list of universities, vetted by the education ministry.
Kovaleva said the measures were intended to "force young Belarusians to come home to their country" after a stint abroad.
Although the ministry did not give figures for the number of people who remain abroad after their studies, many educated Belarusians have chosen exile rather than the iron-fisted rule of President Alexander Lukashenko.
The former vice-dean of Belarus State University, Alexander Rukhlya, criticised the measures as "a return to serfdom".
"This is one step further towards the isolation of Belarus," said Rukhlya, who was sacked after signing a letter of protest at the regime's increasingly authoritarian style.
The UN Human Rights Commission last month called on the regime in Minsk to put an end to the harrassment of political parties, trade unions, the media, educational bodies, religious organisations and democracy and rights activists.
05/05/2005 15:57 GMT