The parents of the Polish students are ready to strike

The strike committees of Polish schools in Lithuania announced the readiness to strike. It is a form of pressure put on the Lithuanian authorities in order to make them drop the regulations of the new educational act voted through on March 17^th 2011, which discriminate the Polish minority in Lithuania. If the Lithuanian authorities continues to ignore  the Polish communities’ postulates, the parents of the Polish students will not hesitate to strike.

The reason why the parents of the Polish students are dissatisfied is  because there is no dialogue with the Lithuanian side over the changes in the currently existing educational act, which discriminate the Poles living in Lithuania.

The secretary of the strike committees of Polish schools in Lithuania Renata Cytacka told ‘Wilnoteka’ that the parents’ desperation reached its peak. ‘Despite of many  reassurances and mediations on the highest national level, the situation of the educational act has practically not changed at all. The Lithuanian side continues to ignore our postulates. The best proof for that are the unproductive meetings of the Polish-Lithuanian Team of the Educational Experts’ – emphasized Cytacka.

The Team was established after the visit of the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk in Lithuania and its aim was to work out the common statement about the future of the Polish education in Lithuania. So far the meetings of the Team  did not bring anything new to the ongoing discussion.

The last meeting of the Team is going to take place on Friday, November 25^th. The final result will be the Team work final report announcement.

According to Renata Cytacka, the representatives of the Polish community in Lithuania expect that it will bring the long awaited result. If not, the desperate parents  of the Polish students in Lithuania will call a strike.

‘Of course we are aware of the fact that in this kind of situation striking is not a good solution. However, we don’t see any other possibility. We care about the wellbeing of our children, that is why we expect the Lithuanian side to decide to talk to us’ – the secretary of the strike committees of Polish schools in Lithuania Renata Cytacka added.

http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/rodzice-uczniow-szkol-polskich-gotowi-do-strajku

Tłumaczenie Katarzyna Słowik w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Katarzyna Słowik within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu