• October 31, 2019
  • 353

Conservatives: It is sad when children in Polish schools do not know the basic Lithuanian words

MP from the fraction of the Union of Homeland-Christian Democrats of Lithuania Laurynas Kasčiūnas together with the city councillor of Vilnius from the same party Kamilė Šeraitė addressed the Minister of Education Algirdas Monkevičius with a proposal to consider the possibility of teaching Lithuanian language in kindergartens of national minorities. Politicians propose that children before the age of 6 learn Lithuanian not less than 5 hours a week.

“Today, various studies and statistics indicate that we have a situation where school where the language of teaching is the language of national minorities, in some respects, lag behind schools with Lithuanian teaching language. This is particularly true of the quality and results of the state language,” says Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
“It is necessary to teach children the Lithuanian language as early as possible. It is sad when children from families of national communities coming to the first class often do not know the basics Lithuanian words and further learning process is impossible. Therefore, teachers are forced to work not according to prepared programs, but to teach children to speak Lithuanian. It must be emphasized that parents of children are not opposed to education in Lithuanian in kindergartens from an early age, and even expect it,” says Kamilė Šeraitė.
According to Kasčiūnas, “language is an important integrating factor that affects the integration of people belonging to communities and national minorities into the labour market and social life, and reduces their sense of seclusion. Most of the inhabitants of regions densely inhabited by national minorities equate knowledge of the Lithuanian language with the prospects of a better life. “

Translated by Oskar Pytka within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.

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