A new school year begins with familiar problems in Lithuania

Nearly 350,000 students returned to school in Lithuania, but the new academic year brought many of the same problems as the last one. Some children went back excited, while others, particularly tenth-graders, faced uncertainty after confusion over the PUPP assessment threshold.

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It is natural that teachers have already become familiar with the programs, and now they will have to look again at what is changing.

Schools continue to report shortages of textbooks and teachers. Almost 250 teaching positions remain unfilled nationwide, with the greatest demand for mathematics, Lithuanian-language and physics teachers. Education Minister Raminta Popovienė said the shortage had fallen by half from the previous year and did not involve full-time positions in every case.

At Vilnius Vytautas Magnus Gymnasium, nine teachers were missing during the summer, although the vacancies had been filled by the start of classes. School director Rytis Komičius said the staffing situation remained fragile because teachers could leave if another employer made an offer or their motivation changed.

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There is definitely no radical change, they have only been amended.

Teachers also face another adjustment to revised curricula. Komičius said educators had already become familiar with the programs and now had to review further changes, while Popovienė said the programs had been amended rather than fundamentally altered. President Gitanas Nausėda said Lithuania did not protect its teachers enough.

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Everything is staffed, but everything is temporary. Today you have someone, tomorrow you no longer do, because someone else may make an offer or the teacher’s motivation may change.

Schools will seek other specialists to help address shortages of foreign-language teachers. A support line for teachers dealing with anxiety, burnout or violence will begin operating this school year. Schools will also decide when and how students can use mobile phones, distribute anti-bullying and anti-violence materials, reduce compulsory social-service hours, and add Lithuanian-language lessons in minority-language schools. Twenty sports classes will open in Vilnius, Kaunas, Kėdainiai and Panevėžys.

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We do not protect our teachers enough.