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Preschool education is currently not compulsory in Lithuania. The bill is due to be submitted to the Seimas next week.
“It just came to our attention then. An equal start for all students, no matter where they are born, live, go to school, what kind of families they live in.
First, reduce the age limit for preschool and primary education by one year. I believe that this initiative is significant and necessary, because several studies show that the earlier children receive preschool education, the better they integrate with their peers, the more receptive they are to knowledge, the better they do in secondary school, ”G Nausėda told reporters the Monday.
Mandatory kindergartens
Another initiative planned by the presidency is compulsory preschool education. According to the president, there are around 4.5 thousand families at social risk. Preschool-age children: about a third of them never attend kindergarten, others receive insufficient funds and are therefore “not sufficiently prepared to start primary education.”
“The initiative is related to the fact that children who grow up in families at social risk do not have full access to preschool education. <...> We propose to make preschool education compulsory, ”said G. Nausėda.
It is estimated that this last initiative will require around 9 million euros. euros.
It is true that the President recognizes that the infrastructure of Lithuanian preschool institutions is currently insufficient.
“If we don’t provide adequate financing, it will be bad. Small steps are needed here, and some financing is needed here. Therefore, it is really necessary to prepare and plan the entire infrastructure accordingly,” said G. Nausėda.
For children from families at social risk, preschool education would begin at 3 years and preschool at 5 years. This means that children can begin to attend first grade from the age of 6. However, as the Presidency points out, the system would be flexible, taking into account the needs and abilities of each child.
The changes are expected to be implemented starting in 2022.
Criticisms of the minister
Speaking about the upcoming school year, G. Nausėda criticized the Minister of Education, Algirdas Monkevičius, saying that the ministry under his leadership had made recommendations too late on how schools should prepare for the school year.
“Any regulation, if it applies to a sector like education, should have been announced long before, long before the start of the school year. <...> We basically started the school year normally, but if the situation worsens and stricter safeguards need to be put in place, it would be done immediately. It will be necessary to show a lot of intelligence and creativity, “said G. Nausėda.
Meet with young teachers
A little later on Monday, in the courtyard of the presidency, on Monday G. Nausėda will meet with more than 100 young teachers who will start working in the country’s schools, thus celebrating the Day of Science and Knowledge.
“The president will be interested in the career they choose and thus will encourage more young people to choose the teaching profession,” the president’s spokesman, Antanas Bubnelis, told BNS.
According to him, the Presidency is positive about the number of future students who have chosen the teaching profession.
“It is a positive trend that this year the number of young people who have chosen the path of the teacher and pedagogical studies has increased significantly,” said a spokesman for the country’s leader.
Compared to last year, the number of students entering pedagogical studies has almost doubled this year.
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