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Lithuania's Panevėžys faces serious teacher shortage challenge
🇱🇹 Lithuania /Culture & Society

Lithuania's Panevėžys faces serious teacher shortage challenge

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Panevėžys is facing a significant shortage of educators, particularly in preschool and early childhood education.
  • A new model will be tested at the "Vaikystė" kindergarten, where two teachers will work in each group to improve educational support and quality.
  • The city's education department is actively seeking various specialists, including music teachers, social educators, and subject teachers for general education schools.

Panevėžys is experiencing a critical shortage of educators, with the city and its surrounding district actively seeking new teachers. Silvija Sėrikovienė, head of the City Municipality's Education Department, estimates that twelve preschool and early childhood education teachers are still needed for preschool institutions.

Now one group needs 1.7 full-time equivalents, and from September 1st, this kindergarten will need 2.5 full-time equivalents.

— Silvija SėrikovienėExplaining the staffing needs at the "Vaikystė" kindergarten as it prepares to implement a new model with two teachers per group.

One particular institution, the "Vaikystė" kindergarten, is looking for 8 to 10 of these teachers. This kindergarten is set to pilot a new initiative where two teachers will be assigned to each group, a change from the current requirement of 1.7 full-time equivalents per group. This model aims to enhance educational support and quality, especially as the "Varpelis" kindergarten is being merged with "Vaikystė" by August 31, with staff being transferred.

We were looking for a solution so that everyone would remain employed. Moreover, there will be better educational support and quality because two teachers will work with the children from morning to evening.

— Silvija SėrikovienėDescribing the benefits of the new two-teacher model being tested at the "Vaikystė" kindergarten.

Beyond early childhood education, the city's kindergartens require additional pedagogical and educational support specialists. Five kindergartens are seeking physical education and non-formal education teachers, though these positions may not be full-time. Three kindergartens also need social educators, each working a quarter of a full-time position.

We still have time – maybe we will find them.

— Silvija SėrikovienėExpressing hope about filling the remaining positions for social educators in city kindergartens.

The shortage extends to music schools, which are searching for accompanists, theater teachers, solo singing instructors, and kanklės teachers. General education schools in Panevėžys are also in need of four mathematics teachers, two Lithuanian language teachers, and two chemistry teachers, one full-time and one part-time. The search continues for primary school teachers, as well as part-time history, English, physics, Russian language, computer science, and engineering technology teachers. Sėrikovienė anticipates that if these positions cannot be filled, existing teachers may have their workloads increased.

We don't have a replacement for mathematicians, and this is a huge problem.

— Silvija SėrikovienėHighlighting the critical shortage of mathematics teachers, some of whom are nearing retirement without successors.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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