1st September – the number of Polish schools stays the same

A new school year begun in all schools in Lithuania. In the schools that teach in Polish there will be 1 thou. 55 first graders. It is a several dozen more first graders than in the previous year.

”We remember the times when 22 thou. children attended Polish schools, today it is about 13 thou. However against the percentage of Lithuanian or Russian classes, so the total of students in Lithuania, this percentage is not decreasing. Last year it was 3.33 percent, so it is the same as it was 10 or 15 years ago” – said Józef Kwiatkowski, the chairman of the Polish School Board.

“This year the Polish schools received a substantial support from the Republic of Poland for equipment, technical means. It is a very substantial support. The Foundation ‘Aid to Poles in the East’ has transferred more than one and a half million litas for those technical means” – informed Józef Kwiatkowski. This year the schools in Kalesninkai, Turgeliai, Šalčininkai,Zujūnų  and Juodšiliai  were renovated.

The number of schools in Lithuania teaching in Polish stays the same. Currently 99 Polish educational institutions are active.

What is interesting, it is the first time since Lithuania has regained its independence that more students are attending schools compared to the previous year. This year there will be 60 200 students in the schools in the capital. It is more than 500 compared to the previous year.