After Nausėda’s Criticism, Popovienė Says She Has Not Received Meeting Invitation

Lithuania’s Education, Science and Sport Minister Raminta Popovienė says President Gitanas Nausėda has not invited her to the meeting he said he expected to hold soon.

“I really know nothing about it. I have not received such an invitation,” Popovienė told ELTA. Nausėda said he saw many challenges in education and criticized the minister, saying he wanted to ask whether she was actually solving problems or merely imitating their resolution.

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I really know nothing about it. I have not received such an invitation

Popovienė said she respected the president’s opinion but did not believe she was pretending to do her job. She said his criticism appeared connected to parliament’s decision to withdraw the threshold requirement for tenth-graders taking the Basic Education Achievement Test. Asked whether she saw a need to meet Nausėda, she said she would wait for an invitation.

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whether she is actually solving problems or merely imitating their resolution

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius defended Popovienė, saying he trusted her and that some education-sector problems could not be solved during a single term. Parliament supported Nausėda’s veto and postponed until Sept. 1, 2029, a requirement that students reach at least the threshold level on the assessment to obtain basic education.

The change drew criticism from part of the education community. Thirty-six education, science, business and civic organizations had urged the president to veto the amendment removing the assessment threshold.

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I suppose I will wait for an invitation, if one is needed