The Lithuanian Poles' Electoral Action-Christian Families Union (LLRA-KŠS) faction in the Vilnius City Council criticizes the city's initiative to increase Lithuanian language lessons for primary school children studying in national minority schools.
According to a statement released by the faction on Friday, national minorities "continue to be forced to follow a dubious model that has not taken root anywhere else."
The LLRA-KŠS faction emphasized that the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is responsible for the implementation of education policy, the formation of strategic goals, and the establishment of rules for the management and financing of the education and science system.
"However, a situation has developed in Vilnius where the "top" knows everything better and tries to decide for us - those who do not know us, but are still convinced that they know what is best for us, decide. It seems that the "top" stands as if in a desert - far from reality," claim the Poles of the Vilnius Council.
The faction lacks the material base necessary for such a reform, trained teachers, methodological frameworks, textbooks, and teaching aids for children of national minorities, so that teaching the Lithuanian language would be attractive.
"Where will we get teachers from, if at the beginning of last year's school year alone there was a shortage of 500 educators and subject teachers in Vilnius? (…) We currently do not have an answer to this," the LLRA-KŠS stated.
The faction also doubts that the average results of the Lithuanian language state maturity exam of students studying in Lithuanian are higher than those of students in national minority schools.
According to the LLRA-KŠS, the results of seven Polish gymnasium students in Vilnius city exceed the average of the Lithuanian matriculation exams.
"Dear friends, enough of mocking and humiliating our children, constantly trying to make us happy. Our children know the state language, pass exams well, and are also willing and able to learn other languages and subjects. Our youth is motivated and is receiving education in Lithuania and abroad. Enough of constantly saying that children in ethnic schools are like second-class citizens," the faction emphasized.
"We do not want to participate in (Vytautas – BNS) Mitalas' political games and political competition with the conservative leader (Laurynas – BNS) Kasčiūnas or the current political government of the ŠMSM (Ministry of Education, Science and Sports – BNS). We are constructively disposed, coordinating decisions at all levels, for the sake of the future of our children," the LLRA-KŠS statement states.
Furthermore, it emphasizes that the Polish community is categorically against reducing native language lessons.
As reported by BNS, in early March, the Ministry of Education submitted a proposal to allow ethnic minority schools to reduce the number of lessons in some subjects for primary school children in order to create more lessons for teaching the state Lithuanian language, but this idea was abandoned.
The Vilnius Council's LLRA-KŠS faction issued this statement after the Vilnius municipality announced this week that it has set a goal for ethnic minority schools to introduce at least six weekly hours of Lithuanian language instruction for primary school children starting next school year.
According to the municipality, the changes were initiated based on the results of the 2020–2024 Vilnius school leaving exams.
The Vice Mayor of the capital, Vytautas Mitalas, stated that the heads of ethnic minority schools have been consulted on this issue, to whom the municipality is ready to provide the necessary assistance. V. Mitalas also emphasized that in some ethnic minority schools, Lithuanian language education was started to be strengthened without a decision from the municipality.
Currently, the Ministry of Education has requested the Ministry of Health (MOH) to change hygiene standards and allow primary school students to organize more lessons, which would be dedicated to the development of the Lithuanian language.
The Ministry of Education proposes to increase the maximum number of lessons for primary school students from 30 to 31-32. According to the ministry, if the Ministry of Education changes the hygiene standard, additional lessons could be added starting in the 2026-2027 school year.
