Sinkevičius on basic education exam delay: Institutional failure harms students

Lithuania's parliament has agreed to postpone stricter requirements for the basic education exam, known as PUPP, until September 2029. This decision came after President Gitanas Nausėda vetoed a previous amendment that aimed to implement these changes earlier.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, leader of the Democratic Union "Vardan Lietuvos," expressed concern over the repeated delays, questioning the institutions' capacity to prepare for the updated standards. He emphasized the importance of ensuring proper preparation and avoiding uncertainty for students, stating that the "inability of institutions to prepare undoubtedly causes harm."

The Seimas (parliament) supported President Nausėda's proposal to push back the requirement that students must achieve at least a threshold score on the PUPP to obtain basic education. This requirement was originally set to take effect in 2026, having already been postponed from 2024. The new deadline is now September 1, 2029.

Amendments to the Education Law passed in 2022 stipulated that basic education would be acquired by completing the program and achieving at least 4 points on the PUPP. However, the implementation has faced multiple delays. In July, the Seimas decided to revoke the requirement that was supposed to take effect from September 1, 2026.

This parliamentary decision has drawn criticism from parts of the education community. Thirty-six educational, scientific, business, and public organizations appealed to President Nausėda, urging him to veto the amendment that abandoned the PUPP threshold. The president ultimately returned the amended law to the Seimas for reconsideration, leading to the current postponement.