Committee of the Council of Europe: A unified exam causes difficulties for students of Polish schools

The institution of the Council of Europe dealing with the rights of national minorities calls on Lithuania to better protect the rights of pupils belonging to national communities and to take measures to eliminate stereotypes towards Roma. This opinion was given by the advisory committee of the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe for the protection of minority rights.

The Committee expressed satisfaction with the government’s decision to establish the Department of National Minorities, but noted the lack of a legal basis to regulate the spelling of minority surnames and the use of minority languages ​​in the naming of the city.
In the opinion of the committee, the program of teaching Lithuanian language and the state examination in Lithuanian language, unified in 2012, applied many difficulties to students of national minority schools, especially Polish nationalities.

In the recommendation addressed to the Lithuanian government, the Committee calls for consultations with representatives of national minorities regarding the development of a legal basis for the protection of persons belonging to national communities.

The Committee also calls for ensuring that school reform does not discriminate against students from non-Lithuanian schools.