White-and-red march through Vilnius and a rally in schools’ defence. ‘Poles want normalcy’.

A two thousandth white-and-red march passed through the streets of Vilnius on Saturday, March 23. Participants of the march at the rally near the Presidential Palace emphasized that they do not agree with any attempts to ‘reform’ the education of national minorities in Lithuania. The organizers of the protest were the Association of Poles in Lithuania with the support of the Association of Teachers of Polich Schools in Lithuania ‘School Matrix’.

We don’t want any changes that are particularly adverse to Polish schools, that’s why we have to express our protest – says CzesławDawidowicz, former director of the Adam Mickiewicz High School in Vilnius, to the ‘KurierWileński’ as he marched.

The participants of the demonstration held Polish, Lithuanian, and European Union flags, and placards: ‘Since preschool till school-leaving exam – in native language’, ‘Hands off Polish education’, ‘No to intimidation and bullying of educators’, ‘Let’s defend the education of national minorities in Lithuania’, ‘Conservatives, don’t fuel discord’, ‘Who will defend a state that fights against its own citizens?’. Not only educational institutions from Vilnius participated in the protest action, but also students, teachers, and parents from the districts of Šalčininkai, Vilnius, Trakai, and Švenčionys joined in.

Dangerous proposals

The protest was organized in response to a series of discriminatory attempts to limit the education of national minorities in Lithuania. In January, the Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Gintautas Jakštas, hinted that his ministry was seeking legal solutions aimed at abolishing Russian-language schools for national minorities in Lithuania, but after a wave of criticism, he quickly withdrew the idea.

Another proposal from the Ministry of Education is to introduce teaching of three subjects – Lithuanian history, geography, and citizenship – in Lithuanian language in schools, which was met with opposition from school communities.

The discriminatory actions also involved the municipal government, represented by Deputy Mayor Arūnas Šileris, who ‘recommended’ schools of national minorities to open classes with Lithuanian language instruction, even though there is a wide network of Lithuanian schools functioning in Vilnius.

– Over the last 30 years of independence, schools in Lithuania have experienced a furry of various changes, often in different directions. Most frequently, these changes affect schools of national minorities for some reason, and usually are not beneficial for them; moreover, they are dangerous. For example, the proposal to close schools of national minorities whose representatives are citizens of this state raises concerns and objections – emphasizes Czesław Dawidowicz.

Changes unfavourable for everyone

As our interlocutor mentioned, opposition is also aroused by other ‘reforms’, citing this year’s novelty in the examination system, namely, intermediate exams.

– The idea of intermediate exams itself is good because the aim of the examination is to lighten the load on the student and spread the examination material over two stages. But how it is done is hard to describe without using not necessarily literally words. The way intermediate exams are prepared also raises objections from Lithuanian school communities. The Ministry of Education has once again clearly shown that it either does not control the situation in education or introduces changes that are unfavourable for everyone – he emphasises.

History lessons in Polish

The participants of the rally spoke out against introducing teaching the three subjects in Lithuanian.

– Whatever representatives of the ruling conservative party say, students best absorb knowledge in their native language. When teaching Lithuanian history, I try to impart knowledge to them in a way that they understand and appreciate the subject. This is the shortest path to raising the level of patriotism. However, introducing Lithuanian history in Lithuanian will result in the majority of children struggling to learn the subject, which will lead to aversion towards the Lithuanian state. Therefore, I am committed to building patriotism and respect for our common state through teaching history, as well as other subjects, in the native language – says Waldemar Szełkowski, history teacher at the Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Middle School in Vilnius.

From preschool to high school graduation in Polish

Among those presenting their expectations was the community of the ‘Bajka’ Preschool-School in Soleczniki. The institution currently has 202 children aged one to five years old.

– We are here to protect our native language, we insist on keeping our Polish roots. We want our children to still have the possibility of learning in Polish language. Through our presence at the rally we want to indicate to the Lithuanian authorities that our institutions are needed. Parents choose them for their children knowingly – says Anna Kulėšovienė, the chair of the ‘Bajka’ Preschool-School in Soleczniki.

The Vice-Principal, Walentyna Kosman, adds that from a young age, children learn the state language in the preschool.

– Lessons in Lithuanian, conducted in the form of play, are held daily for children. By the time they enter the zero grade, six-year-olds already have mastered the basics of the language – she points out.

The growing number of pupils is evidence enough of the need for a Polish preschool.

The current model is working

At the rally, representatives of the authorities from various local governments in the Vilnius region were present. As emphasized by Waldemar Śliżewski, Deputy Mayor of the Soleczniki district, the proposals of the Ministry of Education are not in line with the interests of national minorities.

– We want teaching from the first grade to high school graduation to be conducted in the native language. There should be as much of the native language as possible because it is in line with the elementary logic of education. When students acquire knowledge, they gain competencies in their native language, which makes it easier for them. This does not pose any problem in teaching the Lithuanian language. Our high school guarantees pass exams well and get into universities. The current education model works. It needs improvement, but in a different direction. We need, for example, textbooks translated into national minority languages for all subjects. We also care deeply about maintaining the school network – there must be a school in every locality where a national minority resides in large numbers because it is effective, it works, and these are the demands we are collectively defending today – he emphasises.

In the Soleczniki district, over 2000 students receive education in Polish. There are: 9 schools with Polish language instruction, and 8 preschools with Polish, Lithuanian, and Russian language groups. Education is treated as a priority in the district, as half of the budget is allocated specifically for this purpose.

Reorganization or shutdown?

On the other hand, in the Trakai region, the situation of Polish-language schools is particularly difficult. The Longin Komołowski Middle School in Połuknie and the Andrzej Stelmachowski Primary School in Stare Troki are concerned about their fate. Two years ago, local authorities decided to reorganize them and transform them into branches, which, as parents fear, may lead to their gradual shutdown.

The fight for the schools continues in the courts, as reminded by Agnieszka Rynkiewicz, a mother and community activist, speaking at the rally. – The Trakai District Council has prepared a draft decision for the upcoming council meeting on March 28 to reorganize the Andrzej Stelmachowski Polish School in State Troki into a branch. The authorities have ignored our community’s proposals to discuss the current situation and find a compromise – Rynkiewicz said at the rally.

– We would like the Lithuanian authorities to leave Polish instructions alone. A Polish child from a Polish family must receive education in a Polish school. If that’s what the parents want, it cannot be otherwise – emphasises Wincenta Dziugiewicz, Deputy Director of the Middle School in Trakai.

Poles want the normality

As the chair of the ‘Macierz Szkolna’, Krystyna Dzierżyńska, said, Polish education in Lithuania has been facing very serious challenges for the last 30 years, which have now become even more intensified.

– We are waiting for our requests and proposals, that have been submitted for 30 years, to be acknowledged and implemented by the authorities: that appropriate textbooks, curriculum, and teacher training are needed, and then everything will be more or less normal. ‘Macierz Szkolna’, when something goes wrong in education, constantly speaks out about those pressing matters both in writing and during meetings, but unfortunately, it is acknowledged, yet completely unimplemented. We are constantly told: ‘It’s unclear what these Poles want’, but Poles just want normalcy, like all other educational communities. Normality will come when there are no unjustified reforms, starting and never-ending, which absolutely yield no tangible results – points out Krystyna Dzierżyńska.

The protest’s organizers communicated the representatives of the country’s authorities a resolution in defense of the traditional model of national minority schools.