Chair of the Minsk City Executive Committee's Education Committee, discussed the innovations awaiting applicants for this year's centralized testing and exams during

 Marina Ilyina, Chair of the Minsk City Executive Committee's Education Committee, discussed the innovations awaiting applicants for this year's centralized testing and exams during an off-site meeting of the Standing Commission on Education, Science, Culture, and Social Development of the Council of the Republic, titled "Admissions Campaign 2026: Transparency, Objectivity, and Trust," BelTA reports. "All the innovations (concerning the admissions campaign – BelTA) are aimed at ensuring transparency, fairness, and ensuring that every graduate understands the path to admission to higher education institutions. There aren't many innovations this year. Among them is that when filling out the answer form, you now need to indicate your identification number, as opposed to your passport number previously. I believe this innovation is very convenient, because sometimes, for example, you replace your passport, and its number changes, while your identification number is valid for life," Ilyina noted. She added that this avoids confusion when receiving the results of the Centralized Testing and Centralized Examination. Starting this year, the ban on taking information about the testing or examination process on any media has also been formally established. "This was prohibited before—it was discussed and explained to applicants. But there were still times when, for example, people wrote things down on their hands. And now it's clearly stated that taking information about the testing process on any media is prohibited," Marina Ilyina emphasized. "There's one more detail: we've specified the exact parameters of the calculators that can be used for the centralized exam and centralized testing," she added. According to her, the Republican Institute for Knowledge Assessment's readiness for the admissions and graduation campaigns is being discussed at today's meeting. "We understand that over 30 years of operation, the Republican Institute for Knowledge Assessment has accumulated sufficient experience—they now have the foundation that allows them not only to provide a high-quality assessment of knowledge levels but also to conduct high-quality centralized exams and testing," the committee chair added. Marina Ilyina emphasized that this year, there are approximately 12,000 11th-grade graduates in the capital who are undergoing targeted preparation for the Centralized Testing and the Centralized Examination. "When they take the mock exam, they understand the classrooms they'll be taking it in, and they also test themselves in the mock tests. Homeroom teachers and on-site teachers are working hard to minimize stress for them," she said. "Furthermore, all assignments are designed within the school curriculum."