“The minister and I discussed problematic issues before the school year. There are many challenges. No specific decisions were made on Wednesday, but we are glad that the minister heard clearly formulated problems and possible ways of solving them. We will seek an agreement next week”, said Andrius Navickas, head of the trade union of Lithuanian education workers, to Elta after the meeting in Biršton.
According to him, inclusive education, which will start in September, is probably the biggest challenge at the moment. The head of the trade union noted that educational institutions are not yet ready to accept children with special needs.
“The problem is how to ensure the safety of teachers and quality education for other children,” emphasized A. Navickas.
For her part, the Minister of Education R. Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė says that the situation in educational institutions is different. However, according to her, although some schools are still lacking in preparation for the reform, the Government allocates significant funding for it.
“There are schools that have been implementing inclusive education for decades, but there are also schools that will encounter it for the first time. There is concern, but the Government allocates significant funding to teaching assistants and special educators. If the school will not be able to provide quality inclusive education for objective reasons, the municipality will have to offer some other option,” said the minister to Eltai.
“There is a desire for greater inclusion, but we see that there should not be a dramatic increase in the number of children with special needs entering mainstream schools,” she added.
R. Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė noted that other topics related to the field of education were also discussed at the meeting held on Wednesday.
“The union expressed its concerns. We discussed the procedure for organizing state exams for next year. Also raising teachers’ salaries and other problems,” she mentioned.
ELTA reminds that from September of this year, schools must be ready to accept children with special educational needs, if their parents so request. Already 90 percent Lithuanian children with special educational needs study in general education schools together with their peers.
2024-08-21 15:19:26