Increasing the Number of Lithuanian Language Lessons in National Minority Schools – Stance on the Government’s New Proposals

The new Government of the Republic of Lithuania, led by Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė, presented a plan in December  that proposes significant changes to the national minority education system. A key element of the proposal is increasing the number of instructional hours allocated to the state language in early school education. The initiative, scheduled for implementation by autumn 2028, has sparked discussion not only about the organizational and legal aspects, but above all about the methodological and educational effects of the planned reforms.

According to the published documents, the government’s priority is to improve students’ language competences in Lithuanian language and literature while maintaining the existing number of hours allocated to learning the minority’s native language. Implementing this proposal, however, requires intervention in the existing legal regulations, including the so-called hygiene standards, which determine the maximum student workload. The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, in agreement with the Ministry of Health, proposes increasing the weekly limit of instructional hours in the early grades from 30 to 31-32 hours. In practice, this means that students aged 8-10 would have one or two additional lessons in their weekly timetable. This change is intended to allow additional Lithuanian language lessons to be introduced without reducing the number of hours allocated to other subjects.

The government’s proposal has received a substantive assessment from educational circles. School principals and educational experts point out that simply increasing the number of instructional hours does not guarantee improved educational outcomes, unless it is accompanied by qualitative changes. A key problem identified by practitioners is the lack of an adequate methodology for teaching the state language in minority schools, as well as the lack of modern textbooks adapted to the specific needs of these institutions. Implementing intensive teaching of the state language without an adequate support system, contrary to UNESCO recommendations concerning inclusive multilingual education, may lead to the opposite effect – educational exclusion and discouragement among students. Given the ministry’s inaction in this regard, some schools have undertaken grassroots initiatives aimed at developing their own methods for improving the quality of teaching.

Another important point of contention in the debate is the method used to analyze the educational achievements of students in minority schools, which the government has used as a starting point and to legitimize its planned reforms. Representatives of Polish educational circles point out the risks associated with generalizing statistical data. In official reports, Polish schools are often grouped together with other minority schools, which distorts the actual picture of education. Detailed analyses demonstrate that schools with Polish as the language of instruction maintain high rates of examination success and high standards of education. The deficiencies in proficiency in the state language identified by policymakers – which constitute the main justification for the reforms being implemented – largely result from the averaging of results or concern other language groups. Such an evaluation methodology risks implementing corrective measures in areas that do not require them, while simultaneously overlooking genuine integration challenges.

EFHR’s Stance: The Legal Limits of Integration and the Protection of Identity

In the view of the European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR), the proposed changes require a deeper analysis in light of the Republic of Lithuania’s international legal obligations. Although the need to ensure proficiency in the state language is indisputable, the measures selected by the government raise serious concerns.

The Foundation points out that, according to Article 37 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, citizens belonging to national minorities have the guaranteed right to preserve their language, culture and customs. This right is closely linked to the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, ratified by Lithuania. In particular, Article 14 of the Convention requires the state party to enable persons belonging to national minorities to learn their minority language or to receive instruction in that language. Any legislative measures which, under the pretext of integration, lead to the de facto marginalization of the native language – for example, through a disproportionate increase in the number of state-language instructional hours at the expense of students’ physical and psychological well-being – may be interpreted as a violation of the principle of proportionality.

EFHR points to the risk of disrupting the systemic balance. The current Law on Education (before the planned amendments) provided a balance between integration and the preservation of identity. The proposed changes, which involve mechanically increasing the number of instructional hours allocated to the state language, disregard research that unequivocally demonstrates that the native language provides an essential foundation for the effective acquisition of additional languages, including the official language. Undermining this foundation by overburdening students or limiting their exposure to the native language is an inadequate measure that leads to a decline in overall educational outcomes.

Concern is also raised by the manner in which the proposed changes are being introduced, including the instrumental treatment of hygiene standards. These regulations, intended to protect children’s health (in accordance with the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child), should not be amended solely for the purpose of adapting the realities of schooling to political requirements. EFHR maintains that the authorities’ priority should be investment in the quality of the educational process – including teaching staff and modern teaching materials – rather than simply increasing the number of instructional hours, which, without an adequate methodological support system, would remain merely a political measure of questionable effectiveness.

Although the strategic objective – improving proficiency in the state language – is legitimate and undisputed, the proposed measures (increasing students’ workload and manipulating hygiene standards) have raised justified controversy among experts. In the light of international standards and educational research, a reform based on the dominance of quantitative measures while simultaneously lacking systemic qualitative reform (in methodology and textbooks) carries a risk of ineffectiveness and even educational regression. True integration requires respect for children’s psychophysical capacities and recognition that the native language is an ally, rather than an obstacle, in learning the state language.

Translated by Małgorzata Wojnakowska within the framework of a traineeship programme of the EFHR