Lithuania launches plan to attract teachers with support hotline and scholarships

Lithuania's Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport (ŠMSM) has unveiled a strategic plan aimed at bolstering the teaching profession by fostering public respect and trust in schools.

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The main goal is public respect for the teacher, trust in the school. For this reason, all new measures are designed to ensure that teachers truly receive more help, feel safer, have less administrative burden, and that young specialists come to work in schools, because we really have quite a few studying in pedagogical studies.

"The main goal is public respect for the teacher, trust in the school," stated R. Popovienė, speaking at the ministry. "All new measures are designed to ensure teachers receive more help, feel safer, have less administrative burden, and attract young specialists to work in schools." The plan emphasizes the importance of both attracting new talent and improving the working conditions for current educators, a point frequently raised in meetings with teachers and professional unions.

A significant new initiative is the planned establishment of a teacher support hotline, funded by the European Union and coordinated by the National Education Agency. This line will offer psychological and legal assistance, operating daily for four hours starting in September. "We are highlighting a completely new measure – the emerging Teachers' Line. It launches from September, and teachers can seek consultation every day for 4 hours," Popovienė explained.

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We emphasize that the arrival of young people in schools is very important, but the working conditions of currently employed teachers are also very important – and we hear that in meetings with teachers, professional unions.

To attract more students to pedagogical studies, the ministry is expanding the list of priority programs eligible for state scholarships. This includes Spanish, English languages, and social pedagogy, fields where a shortage of teachers is particularly acute. Furthermore, the ministry is introducing more flexible conditions for employment and qualification maintenance. For instance, teachers who previously worked and held a qualification but took a break of several years can now return to teaching with their existing qualification, potentially serving as methodologists, a role previously unavailable to them after a career interruption.

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We are highlighting a completely new measure – the emerging Teachers' Line. It launches from September, and teachers can seek consultation every day for 4 hours.

Individuals with a master's degree will now be equated with a senior teacher's qualification level, while those with a doctorate or higher will be considered equivalent to a methodology teacher. The ministry estimates that Lithuania could face a shortage of up to 6,000 teachers within the next five years, with the most significant needs in mathematics, foreign languages, Lithuanian language, chemistry, and physics. Notably, the plan requires no additional funding from the state budget.

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We are including more (of those studies – ELTA) that are most needed – specifically Spanish, English languages, and social pedagogy. These will also be subjects that will be on the priority list, and students will be able to receive a scholarship while studying.