Minister of Education: Probably pupils from minority schools will get different tasks in the exam than their peers from Lithuanian schools

It is possible that pupils from minority schools will get different tasks in the school-leaving examination in the state language than their peers from Lithuanian schools.

The Minister of Education and Science, Dainius Pavalkis, said that some options were being investigated. Today, the meeting of the political council of the ruling coalition will be held. “I think we’re going to present three or four options to the political council. Let the people who are responsible for Lithuanian politics decide. First of all, we’re going to debate about three things: smaller number of characters in an essay, greater number of authors to choose from and the assessment criteria for examination papers,” the minister said.

Dainius Pavalkis added that he was considering another option, i.e. the pupils from non-Lithuanian schools will get different tasks in the exam. “Various options are being investigated. We all agree on one thing. Certainly, the school-leaving examination in the state language is going to be held in minority schools. Now, we’re working on how far complicated should it be, which concessions to provide and how is the exam going to be assessed by examiners,” the minister emphasised.

In 2011, the previous Lithuanian government passed a new Education Act, which introduced a unified school-leaving examination for all schools in Lithuania. The Act became the bone of contention between the local Poles and Lithuanian authorities, and Between Vilnius and Warsaw.

Source: http://pl.delfi.lt/aktualia/litwa/minister-oswiaty-mozliwie-ze-uczniowie-nielitewskich-szkol-beda-mieli-inne-zadania-egzaminacyjne.d?id=60635673

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