Wojnicz: Experimenting and interfering with national minority schools is not worth it.

Wojnicz: Experimenting and interfering with national minority schools is not worth it

As we reported before, Lithuanian conservatives propose a gradual increase of instruction in Lithuanian language in curricula of national minority schools. According to the project, since 2028 the Social studies classes should be taught in Lithuanian, and since 2030 it is going to be all of the subjects, except for the minority’s mother tongue class.

We are going to examine how the proposed changes will affect the national minority schools.

National Minority Council’s stance on the proposed reforms

We asked Władysław Wojnicz from National Minority Council for a comment on the matter.

At the moment I cannot say what the Council’s stance on the matter will be, because we would have to meet and discuss the topic. I am sure, however, that for some members it is going to be a difficult subject.

Generally speaking, these schools would change their profile – they would not be national minority schools anymore, but schools with elective or individual subjects conducted in the language of the national minority. That is not the purpose of these schools and it is the first problem with such a proposal.

Another issue – and I am going to state my own personal opinion here – is that experimenting and interfering with national minority schools is not worth it. I find them to be a guarantee of obtaining knowledge of one’s own language and culture. Implementing such drastic reforms is not going to benefit these minorities, so I am not convinced that it is a good decision.

There are also key issues related to the refugees. On one hand, I understand the intentions of the authors of this project: they think that the immigrants arriving in Lithuania should adjust to the binding standards and be able to speak the language of the state – I agree with that. However, it is important to note, that for many Ukrainian refugees choosing a national minority school is a much easier option due to their knowledge of the language. Adapting to a different language and culture, completely unrelated to the native one, is a huge challenge. A child, who does not attend the first grade, but a higher one, instead of focusing on their studies, is going to have to learn the local language to understand what they are being taught in the first place.

The project also aimes to increase the amount of instruction in Lithuanian in the curricula of national minority schools since 2030. Even though, as a Polish community in Lithuania, we are protected by bilateral agreements, there is always a risk that they could be modified or liquidated on the grounds of ensuring equal standards for all citizens. The subject of national minority schooling in Lithuania is, in my opinion, very sensitive and we are going to have to think very carefully if implementing such a drastic change will be worth it.

Wojnicz emphasizes, that in his view, the Polish youth in Lithuania has a good level of Lithuanian language, thus he does not see the point of these reforms.

We asked him if the project is in agreement with the binding legal acts in Lithuania and whether it can be implemeted in theory.

Generally speaking, nobody says that the national minority schools should be shut down. It would be unlawful. There is a discussion about implementing changes in the curriculum, which could potentially clash with the Law on National Minorites, the Law on Education and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities   

All the more so because in many cases we are talking about schools with Belarussian or Russian as the language of instruction. We need to exhibit more sensitivity to the current geopolitical situation and respect the legal acts that guarantee the right to education in the mother tongue. In the Framework Convention – to simplify it – there is a one important rule: the situation of a national minority should keep improving, not deteriorating.  In this case, it is hard to say if the situation will improve, since we are trying to limit or reduce the role of something.  

The arguments behind the proposal are, among others, that about 20% of national minority representatives do not pass the Lithuanian langauge exam. In the case of Lithuanians, it it about 5-6%. These particular numbers are frequently brought up during the debates. We asked Władysław Wojnicz if they can be considered an attempt to win public suport for the reforms.

I think the statistics could sometimes be used in a manipulative way because they can be interpreted in various ways. Lithunian linguists and the clerks at the Lithuanian Ministry of Education are trying to draw attention to the fact that the national minorities in Lithuania do not speak Lithuanian language very well. Such statistics are at times misleading because they present a one-sided picture of facts. Of course, the older generation who lives in smaller towns may have some probelms with communicating in Lithuanian, but the younger generation surely speaks it fluently. The modern national minority schooling provides a satisfactory level of Lithuanian language learning.

An important aspect of the debate is the curriculum. I think that the program, its range and the requirements should be different for Lithuanian native speakers and for people of other nationalities, for whom Lithuanian is not the mother tongue. I think that the youth of national minorities speaks the Lithuanian language well. Functioning in the society, making a career, finding one’s own occupational path and participation in social and political life is not an issue for them.  I am not sure whether the purpose of this reform is to make every person of national minority an expert in the Lithuanian language, but it is a very controversial matter. It is surely unacceptable that the sylabus and teaching methods should be the same for both people for whom it is a native language and for those for whom it is a state language. This issue is being debated in Lithuania for decades now, and the final compromise is still nowhere to be found.

The potential effects of the reforms pose a threat to the society

Every change, especially if it affects national minorities, could lead to the negative perception of the government. We asked the representative of the council about the potential dangers.

While speaking of national minorites, we need to keep in mind that all the matters related to the lives of these people should result from the fact that as citizens they have their own rights and obligations.

They have the constitutional right to receive education in their mother tongue. Especially since they attend public schools, following the state curriculum and they have a full right to use these institutions.

I also think that the project includes a selective treatment of certain national minorities, which can exacerbate unnecessary aversion to the State of Lithuania. In my opinion, such actions will not contribute to maintaining a good relationship between the state and its citizens because the state takes away certian rights that were already given. It could also radicalize some groups  – especially the younger people, in my opinion. I think that we are playing a very dangerous game.

Władysław Wojnicz also mentioned the upcoming elections.

I am convinced that these moves mark the beginning of the pre-election campaign.  Such proposals may be perceived very well by the public and stir some radical groups to action. The local elections are getting closer, so the politicians have already started the preparations. Playing the card of national minorities is a dangerous and harmful strategy.

Are we completely helpless against the changes?

Not entirely. It is crucial to remember that for now it is just a proposal and any potential changes will be closely observed, among others, by the Department of National Minorities under the Goverment of the Republic of Lithuania.

This subject will certainly be discussed. As I said, it is a very sensitive and delicate matter, so we cannot just leave it.

I am not able to predict the Council’s stance on the reforms, due to the fact that the organization is comprised of different people, with different worldviews and needs. With each minority in Lithuania, there are various expectiations depending on the size of a particular community. But I do think that all members of the Council are unanimous regarding one aspect: in the process of making any decision about national minorities policy, it is necessary to reflect on the possible harm it may cause to the minorities.

Another important issue to consider is whether the passed law or decision is not going to backfire. Whether, instead of encouraging people to get to know the culture and life in Lithuania, we will not cause an opposite reaction – making people radicalized, negative or hostile towards their own country.

It is a very sensitive matter. We will do our best to prevent any harmful situations to the local community. Such tensions may later spill over onto the streets and affect interpersonal relationships. We need to be careful about what the politicians say, because it is a great responsibility – says Władysław Wojnicz.

We also asked Adam Błaszkiewicz, the principle of the John Paul II Gymnasium in Vilnius, for a comment.

Such a decision obviously poses a certain threat. For the moment, there’s a mention that the schools protected by international agreements are not going to be included in the project. But the agreements can always be revoked in case something unpleasant happens. The school community probably will not opt for opening Lithuanian-language classes as long as there is no demographic need for it. If a shortage of students occurs, this kind of classes may start to appear but even then the decision should belong to the schools and their communities.

The principal points out that opening Lithuanian-language classes will be funded from the budgets of the institutions involved, so – in his opinion – it would not be a change that does not require additional funds as representatives of Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats party claim.

The principal also takes notice of the alarming way the proposal was formulated:

If they would explicitly say that the Russian-language schools in Lithuania should not have the right to function, everything would become clear. If the proposal is formulated in a way that includes national minorities in general, no wonder why it is causing confusion. After all, we are a national minority, too.

Conservatives: the project does not apply to Polish schools

Daiva Ulbinaitė, a Member of Parliement and party representiative, made a comment for TVP Vilnius as well.

I want to reassure the Polish community that these ammendments to the bill, which were presented by my colleague Kasčiūnas, do not apply to the Polish community in any way. These ammendments, inspired by similar laws in Estonia and Latvia, are supposed to apply to Russian-language schools. I propose a gradual implementation of said changes until 2030, however only Russian schools would be affected.

In case of these national minorities whose countries signed bilateral and multilateral agreements, none of said requirements are proposed. When it comes to Russian schools, we see how the situation unfolds based on instances from Estonia and Latvia. When Russian-speaking individuals do not learn the state language to a satisfactory level, they cannot integrate properly. In that case, even at a young age, they remain  without the knowledge of the state language and as a result they are stuck in the Russian information space.

We know about the massive waves of misinformation flowing through the channels that these individuals usually rely on, as the language barrier prevents them from watching Polish or Lithuanian television.

So there is only one purpose: to not leave Russian-speaking people in such informational isolation and help them learn Lithuanian properly so that can be a part of our daily life and build a good-quality future for themselves. Without knowing the state language they cannot enter universities or fully reach their goals.

Schools with Polish as the language of instruction really have nothing to worry about because all of the legal protections are going to be included in the project and my colleague’s proposal definitely will not affect them.

We asked the representatives of the biggest Russian-   and Belarussian-language schools in Vilnius for a statement. For now, they have not responded pointing to the long process of authorization of the response by the Vilnius City Municipality. So far, we also have not heard any statements from the press secretary of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats party, as well as from Laurynas Kasčiūnas, a party representative, who presented the project during a press conference.

We will continue to monitor the case closely and the article will be updated with new information.