Condition of education in the Vilnius region –something to be proud of

On Thursday, 27th August in the St. Urszula Ledóchowska Junior high school in Czarny Bór the conference considering directors of educational institutions of the Vilnius region took place.  The theme of the conference was the overview of the condition of regional education, aims and tasks in the new school year 2015/16.

Jan Gabriel Mincewicz the vice-mayor of the Vilnius region addressed the assembly with the speech. He expressed satisfaction that the majority of middle schools in the region gained accreditation and have been transformed into junior high schools. He also appealed directors of other few middle schools that they ought to perform all indispensable changes in the term specified by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania and acquired the status of junior high school.

The chain of schools

Lilia Andruszkiewicz, the director of the Education Department of the Administration of the Vilnius local government performed the overview of the education condition in Vilnius region for the first half of the year 2015.

In January-June this year, 45 schools were active in the region – 21 junior high schools, 5 middle schools, 10 elementary schools, 1 multi-functional centre, 2 elementary schools, 6 kindergartens and 22 unofficial educational institutions: 18 early school education outposts, 2 musical schools, 1 art school and 1 sporting school.

In 2015, middle schools in Bezdonys, Buivydžiai, Lavoriškės, Mickūnai and Jałówka gained the status of a junior high school, others, pursuant to the decision of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania wait for a change of their status to 31st August 2017.

Students

In the 2014/2015 school year, educational outposts educated 10 309 children. 7 622 of them are elementary schools and junior high schools’ students. 589 attended early education institutions, while kindergartens were attended by 2 098 children. In general, 10 309.

4 385 children (42,54%) – are of Lithuanian origins,  5 579 (54,12) – Poles, 345 (3,35) – Russians.

138 directors of educational institutions worked in the region. 74 (53, 6%) has certificates and 64 – does not. As Ms Andruszkiewicz said, lack of certification is partly due to the presence of new and young directors in a chain of institutions.

Preventive activity

In the educational outposts in the 2014/15, preventive activity was led with the aim of counteracting skipping the classes, smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, violence as well as psychological and physical bullying. Numerous schools and kindergartens joined the preventive programs. To add, Juliusz Słowacki middle school in Bezdonys and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgierd middle school in Maišiagala participated in the renowned international program of preventing the violence ‘Olweus’. All schools took part in the traditional, Lithuanian week „Be patyčių”.

Summer holidays

1 424 persons from the region participated in the daily and traveling summer camps in the Vilnius county. 14 980 Euros were contributed for the aim. Local government partly financed regional schools trips to international competitions and camps. One of the vital aspects of the institutions activity is ensuring proper nutrition of children in the education outposts. In the school year 2014/15, the administration of Vilnius region financed 2 600 students. 707 of them took part in the daily camps.

Education environment

45 libraries, whose collections amount to 300 000 books, are active in the regional schools; 4500 of them – in the digital format. There are 235 computerized reading spots with internet access. In the 2015, 187 thousands of Euros were allocated for purchasing new handbooks and education equipment to educational institutions of local government. Schools have 1890 computers and 1733 of them have the internet, 27 schools use the TAMO electronic diary.

Achievements

Schools in the region successfully participated in different kinds of local, republican and international contests and competitions. Junior high school student, Agnieszka Sobieska from Nemėžio, took the 3rd place in the Republican Polish language contest.

Exams

In 2015, 725 persons took exams (in 2014 – 744, 2013 – 777) students of the Vilnius region. High school graduates constituted 549 of them.

The greatest number took the following state exams:

Russian – 293 (53,4%)

Lithuanian and literature – 287 (52,3%)

100% of students in the Vilnius region took the mother tongue exam– Polish – 322 persons, 16 –the Russian language exam. 13 graduates in the region gained the best grade on the exam – 100 points.

335 graduates of the Vilnius region schools entered the universities. It makes up 61% of the general number.

Patriotic-civil education

To enhance civic attitude among students in the region, a number of events was organized in the educational institutions: exhibitions, quizzes, social campaigns. The events dedicated to 13th of January – the Lithuanian Defendants’ Day, 16th of February –Day of proclaiming the Lithuanian Independence, 11th of March –Day of reclaiming the Lithuanian Independence.

Students also participated in the clearing action „Darom”.

Informal education

In the 2014/15 school year, 979 hours were devoted to informal education (in 2013/2014 – 858,5 hrs.). In the first half of the 2015 many regional cultural-musical events were organized: festivals, concerts. The most important of them is the Fine Arts Festival of junior high schools, middle and elementary schools in the Vilnius region.

In schools complementing formal education, 848 students learned in the first half of 2015 – 150 in the Nemenčinė musical school, 129 in the Pagiriai musical school, 207 in the Rudaminos school, 362 students in the sporting school of the Vilnius region local government.

It should be emphasized that the representatives of sporting school won 6 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze medals for the period on the international scene.

17 pupils of the school were invited to the Lithuanian representations in biathlon, skiing, athletics, archery and hockey.

Education financing

Educational institutions of the Vilnius region were financed from state target subsidies (student’s basket), from the budget of the regional self-government, EU finances and other sources, 30 690 166 Euros in general.

‘Student’s basket’ constituted slightly more than 16 mln Euros, self-government’s means – more than 11 659 mln Euros, self-government’s finances intended for investment projects – 1 391 624 Euros.

Local government possesses 20 mini-buses for driving children to educational outposts from more remote places. Only in 2015 local government purchased another 5 mini-buses. 3392 students and 26 disabled persons were driven to schools in all. 666 000 Euros were allocated for this aim.

Renovation works

Maria Rekść, mayor of the Vilnius region who was at the conference, addressed the directors with the request: ‘Not all issues depend on the local government. Unfortunately, they won’t find some of the educational institutions renovated for 100%. It instigates unnecessary and unjustified fear and anxiety among parents and students’. The mayor called upon to directors of schools and kindergartens so that they appeased school community and she ensured that work will be performed in full in all the places where renovations take place.

The region can be deservedly proud of the renovation actions of the education institutions.

In 2015, many schools and kindergartens were renovated and modernized. Renovation-reconstruction of kindergartens in Mostiškės and Rukainių, school-kindergarten in Medininkai and Rudowsie, St. Urszula Ledóchowska junior high school in Czarny Bór is finished; gymnasium with a canteen was built here. Modernizing actions are ongoing in the junior high school in Bezdonys, primary schools in Kiwiszki, Šumskas, junior high schools in Avižieniai, Pagiriai, Rukainių. What’s more, before the beginning of the heating season, boilers will be modernized in junior high schools in Bezdonys and Mickūnai, in the middle school in Medininkai, in primary schools in Kiwiszki and Šumskas, kindergarten in Anowil, in the Nemenčinė musical school.

The building of the nursery-kindergarten in Sudervė is finishing, the reconstruction of the kindergarten in Riešė and the erection of the beginner classes’ outbuilding of the junior high school „Verdenė” in Paberžė is beginning.

Preferences for the future

To end the conference, Lilia Andruszkiewicz addressed the basic priorities of the academic activity for the school years 2015/16.These are the following: aiming to improve outcomes in the school education, enhancement of individualization of education, providing the support in time for a student in the process of learning, aiming at increasing the number of students participating in the informal education, continuation of the activity’ priorities in the years  2014-2015 – perfection of the learning and teaching competences.