1. Key indicators

2. Highlights

3. A focus on well-being in education and training

A greater sense of belonging at school could have a positive impact on student achievement in Lithuania. Only 55.7% of 15-year-olds surveyed in the OECD’s 2018 programme for international student assessment (PISA) feel that they belong at school compared, with an average of 65.2% at EU level. PISA 2018 shows that sense of belonging is associated with a 20-point increase in reading performance in Lithuania (compared to an average of 11 points), after accounting for the socio-economic profile of students and schools. Social and territorial differences in Lithuania also manifest themselves in indicators of pupils’ well-being. For instance, in 2018 27.5% of pupils from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds reported being a victim of bullying at least a few times a month against 17.6% of more advantaged students. This 9.9 pps gap is the third highest in the EU (the average gap at EU level is 5.7 pps). Bullying has a significant impact on reading performance: it results in a 40-point decline in reading score whereas it only results in an average 23-point decline at EU level (Figure 3). This significant impact of bullying in Lithuania could further widen the achievement gaps between pupils from less advantaged and more advantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and it points to a need for extra support targeting the most disadvantaged. At present, extracurricular activities that can help students develop non-cognitive skills such as persistence, resilience or a stronger sense of belonging (Massoni, 2011) are more frequently available in advantaged schools (OECD, 2020b).

Improving students’ well-being has become a national policy objective in the last decade.Between 2015 and 2018, the share of 15-year-olds being bullied at least a few times a month increased by 6.2 pps (compared with an average increase in the EU of 3.3 pps) to 22.6% (EU: 22.1%), as shown by PISA 2018. Since 2017, schools have been required to provide bullying-prevention programmes and assistance to pupils and teachers experiencing violence or bullying. The Structural Education Reform (2018-2021)¹ included a policy action aiming at making schools a safe place for all (Box 1) by moving from an individual to a more systematic approach to students’ well-being. Prevention programmes which also cover social and emotional competences became part of the new curriculum after this reform (see Section 5). However, further teacher training could be necessary to guarantee a safe educational environment for all children and ensure that teachers respond to different educational needs effectively, as set out in the Agreement on the national education policy (2021-2030). According to the 2018 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), about 21% of teachers report a high level of need for professional development in student behaviour and class management (as against an average in the EU-22² of 14.2%). Moreover, a lack of funds and shortages of specialists³ in schools could hold back the implementation of more comprehensive approaches to supporting well-being at schools (such as approaches that also include teachers’ well-being, which is not yet addressed). Not all schools can afford or attract the necessary competent staff. At tertiary level, each institution is responsible for its students’ well-being and a more systematic approach across the tertiary sector is lacking so far.

Lithuania has allocated additional funds to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on students’ well-being. Students were largely unprepared for the sudden and unexpected change of moving from face-to-face to remote learning, and many had emotional problems in coping. A report from Vilnius University suggests that tertiary students have experienced difficulties in concentrating and low motivation due to a loss of social contact, higher workload, and the increased number of hours spent online. To help university students to better cope with the negative impact of the crisis, additional psychological support services were provided during the 2020/2021 academic year. National surveys⁴ confirm that the well-being of younger pupils between first and eighth grade has also suffered. High achievers from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds were especially affected, as their parents had fewer opportunities to support them at home. The current crisis risks further exacerbating the learning gaps that already exist due to socio-economic background if disadvantaged pupils are not offered additional support to help them catch up. To mitigate the impact of the current crisis on students, the National Agency for Education has organised training programmes for specialists on how to provide assistance remotely and for teachers on how to identify risks of sexual abuse and substance addiction online. In cooperation with municipalities, education centres and the Ministry of Health, teachers were encouraged to take care of their emotional health by participating in training. As part of the `Action Plan 2021-2022 to reduce the long-term negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual and public mental health´, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport has announced `the Well-Being Programme´ with a budget of about EUR 5 million in 2021.

4. Investing in education and training

The government has announced increases in education spending. In 2019, general government expenditure on education as a proportion of GDP was almost at the EU average (4.6% against 4.7% in the EU), and above the EU average as a proportion of total general government expenditure (13.3%; EU: 10%). The government plans to increase investment in education to address national education challenges in the next decade. According to the agreement on national education policy, funding per student will amount to at least 36% of GDP per capita in 2030 an increase of 11 pps since 2017. A new agreement between the Ministry of Education and teachers’ unions was signed in late 2020 to introduce gradual increases in teachers’ salaries until 2025. A regulation on full-time pay for teachers was already revised in 2019. Nevertheless, the principles for determining what constitutes full-time work for a teacher have still not been laid down, and schools enjoy great autonomy in defining this (National Audit Office of Lithuania, 2020). Standardised criteria to determine the workload of teachers and calculate salaries would ensure a uniform application of the legislation across schools.

RRF funds could offer the impetus needed to implement the challenging reorganisation of the school network.Optimising the oversized school network has been a stated objective of the government for years. However, the current funding system has provided few incentives for this reorganisation. Municipalities have also resisted possible school closures, fearing a negative impact on community life. Around 40% of schools have less than 200 pupils, while 28% operate joint classes⁷. While maintenance spending on small schools in rural areas is excessive, little is spent on teacher training⁸ (see Section 5). Urban-rural gaps in education outcomes are also significant, with students in urban schools outperforming those in rural schools (European Commission, 2020). OECD (2020a) shows that school size and test scores are positively associated in Lithuania. New rules for municipalities which link access to public funding to the size of schools and prohibit joint classes from the fifth to the eighth grade will be published by the end of the year. Financial support will be provided only to schools which present a five-year programme to improve quality and achieve efficiency targets. Municipalities with at least 1 000 pupils enrolled from primary to upper-secondary level will be able to apply under this scheme. Schools below this threshold can associate with adjacent municipalities if they wish to apply. Funds will reach 150 already existing public schools by 2026 and can be used to innovate current infrastructure, provide students with support, and strengthen the competences of teachers and school principals. The programme aims at promoting school networking beyond the territory of one municipality and encouraging smaller schools to connect to larger ones. However, effective implementation of the programme will require weighing the benefits of school reorganisation in terms of efficiency with drawbacks such as a longer journeys to and from school, especially for younger children. Besides ensuring transportation of pupils to and from the schools, it will be necessary to build consensus around this reform at municipal level while steering the process at central level. Reaping the full benefits of this reform will require improving school monitoring and increasing the competences of school principals, as they currently enjoy great autonomy in managing schools.

5. Modernising early childhood and school education

Amendments to the Education Law aim to increase participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Participation in ECE of children from age 3 to 6 stood at 89.6% in 2019, below both the EU average (92.8%) and the new EU-level target of 96% set for 2030 (Figure 4). The possibility to enter to pre-primary education has been lowered from 6 to 5 years, entering into force in September 2023. In 2019, 26.3% of children under 3 attended formal childcare – a significant rise of 15.3 pps since 2009, yet still below the EU average of 35.3%. The government plans to extend the legal entitlement to pre-school education in the coming years. Municipalities should provide ECEC to all 4-year-old children whose parents require a place in 2023, for all 3-year-olds in 2024, and for all 2-year-olds in 2025. As of September 2021, children from families at risk of poverty should be guaranteed access to pre-school education. Municipalities which design and implement local services, including decisions on procedures for enrolment, will be financially supported by the central government. This is particularly important given the need to compensate for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, above all on more disadvantaged students. A feasibility study on how to adapt existing ECEC infrastructure and develop transport services and whether a further expansion of capacities is needed to meet increasing needs and tackle imbalances in ECEC provision (European Commission, 2020) will be carried out in 2021. According to the National Audit Office of Lithuania (2020), in 2019-2020, around 64% of children living in 41 municipalities were not transported to ECEC facilities despite their need.

Some measures have been planned to improve quality in ECEC. The NRRP envisages an update of the pre-primary education curriculum to better match the learning needs of younger children. An expert group was set up in May 2021 to develop new pre-school educational guidelines for municipalities by 2022. According to the National Audit Office of Lithuania (2018), only a third of municipalities analyse their provision of pre-school education by conducting internal audits or thematic inspections. A new methodology for self-evaluations and external evaluations at ECEC and school level will be developed by 2022, supported by EU funds. This could help put in place a central monitoring system that ensures high-quality across Lithuania. While all these measures are welcome, significant improvements in participation and quality also require: (i) better coordination between local and central level; (ii) highly-qualified administrative staff; and (iii) proper financial and organisational support for municipalities. Increasing the number of highly-qualified ECEC staff is also needed to meet the ambitious objectives.

Some steps are being taken to improve school outcomes.Lithuania performed better than the EU average in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)⁹ showing that its pupils cope relatively well with the school programme. However, student outcomes, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), are generally poor, as shown by PISA 2018¹⁰ (Figure 1) and national tests. Tests also highlight high dispersion within schools: 73% of school leavers in the 2020 ‘Matura’ school-leaving exam deviated from the average level of maths achievement in their schools. In addition, almost one third of students failed the 2020 ‘Matura’ school-leaving exam and almost 20% of 10th graders scored below satisfactory in a maths test in spring 2021. Lithuania is currently updating the general curriculum framework for primary and secondary education to implement competence-based curricula from 2023, as planned in the NRRP. Successful implementation of these curricula will also require an update of the system for student assessment, as was already planned in the 2018-2021 programme for structural education reform. 27% of school leavers in the Matura exams who had high scores in class tests did not pass the final exam. This update of the primary and secondary curricula should also look at the framework and content of the Matura, and is essential to ensure greater consistency between final exams, class assessments, and other assessments of competences, including non-cognitive competences. The RRF will also help to develop a network of 10 STEAM centres with the aim of improving access to laboratories and non-formal learning activities to strengthen pupils’ STEAM competences.

More systemic oversight could help increase quality and inclusion more effectively.The National Audit Office of Lithuania of Lithuania (2020) maintains that the number of schools which monitor the individual progress of pupils is increasing. Nevertheless, a more systemic monitoring system is still missing. Setting up a monitoring system linked to the reorganisation of the school network and the development of a new methodology for school evaluation could represent a first step to ensuring higher-quality education across Lithuania by collecting relevant data and information. This would also help to provide more targeted support to address shortcomings in learning due to the pandemic and the high impact of socio-economic background on education outcomes as shown by PISA 2018. Despite a greater share of students engaged in peer-to-peer tutoring and homework support in socio-economically disadvantaged schools (OECD, 2020b), the use of private tutoring is widespread in general. This increases the performance gaps in education caused by socio-economic background (National Audit Office of Lithuania, 2020). TIMSS 2019 shows that 59% of pupils (against an EU-22¹¹ average of 57%) are taught by teachers who say they need professional development to address individual students’ needs. Although the rate of early school leaving is still well below the EU average (5.6% against 9.9% in 2020), it has increased by 1.6 pps since 2019. This is the second highest increase in the EU, driven by a particularly strong increase in rural areas (+3.3 pps). This trend could be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights the need for additional support to target disadvantaged young people in rural areas. To better support students in their final grade of school and address the impact of remote learning, the government allocated about EUR 5.25 million for student tutoring in 2021.

As of 2024, all schools must ensure access for children with special needs and provide them with any necessary special assistance. Pupils with disabilities in Lithuania lack access to inclusive education (OECD, 2020a), and there has been no progress towards the objective of reducing the share of pupils in special institutions to 0.5% by 2022 from the 1.1% share they occupied between 2016 and 2019 (National Audit Office of Lithuania, 2020). Investments in school infrastructure will also be needed to implement the principle of inclusion, as less than 10% of schools are able to guarantee access to pupils with special needs¹². Progress towards more inclusive education will also make it necessary to increase the supply of specialist teachers across the country. During the 2018-2019 school year, 28% of schools did not have a special-needs teacher or a speech therapist (European Commission, 2021a).

Investment in teachers’ competences will be boosted by the RRF. It will finance training in ICT competences for 2 200 school teachers as well as further qualifications, including Master’s degrees, for 10 200 teachers. To foster the uptake of digitally driven educational innovations, the Edtech platform will support the testing of innovative education methods in schools designed by start-ups and innovators. The aim of improving teachers’ competences is to contribute to better education outcomes and effective implementation of the curriculum reform. This is urgently needed, as about 50% of students¹³ are currently taught by teachers who say they need professional development in content, pedagogy, curriculum, and assessment in mathematics and science (TIMSS 2019). A revision of the Teacher Training Regulation is also planned in the NRRP by 2022. The objective of this revision is to make teacher training more flexible by: making it possible to obtain credits for acquiring higher qualifications, including Master’s degrees; and recognising informally acquired competences and completion of short modules in certain subjects. This may also have a positive impact on the attractiveness of the profession, (European Commission, 2019). To better adapt teachers’ professional development to schools’ needs (European Commission, 2019) it will be important to continue measures aimed at fostering the competences of school principals, particularly in assessing training needs and managing school budgets (European Commission, 2020). Teachers’ training fees are mainly covered by school budgets and the European Social Fund.

6. Modernising vocational education and training and adult learning

The RRF will boost efforts to make VET more attractive. Initial VET learners in lower- and upper-secondary education as a percentage of the total student population has remained almost stable at about 29% between 2013 and 2019. To make VET more attractive, it has been possible for students in general education to take up vocational modules since September 2020. The NRRP also aims for at least 4 900 students to complete by 2026 vocational modules oriented towards developing skills to support the green and digital transitions. In addition, to facilitate the acquisition of practical skills in small and medium-sized enterprises by students, apprenticeships and work-based learning support scheme will be established by 2022. Moreover, to ensure that the content of VET better matches the needs of the labour market, vocational programmes will be updated or prepared, following consultation with social partners. A national IT platform will also be set up for the Progress of VET that brings together social partners, authorities, VET providers and other stakeholders to ensure a long-term and sustainable vocational training model in each region. In 2020, Lithuania also approved a new procedure to assess competences acquired through apprenticeships, work experience, self-study or other types of learning.

Measures have been implemented to support the shift to remote learning during the current crisis. During the pandemic, universities and other education institutions and businesses provided free access to digital resources to teachers and the general public. The Qualifications and VET Development Centre has set up a digital resource-bank of good practices in VET. In 2020, specific training was provided to teaching staff on STEM education in VET institutions and organising remote learning in VET. This was part of a project to develop a system of continuous professional development for vocational teachers and adult educators.

Participation in learning has remained largely stable during the pandemic. In 2020, 7.2% of Lithuanian adults (aged 25-64) participated in learning, up from 7% in 2019, but still below the EU average (9.2%). This may be because adult educators adapted to the pandemic rather well, especially during the second lockdown (from November 2020). Furthermore, the continued implementation of various projects, including those funded by the EU, kept up the momentum in education. It also helped to improve general, special and professional skills, and motivated adults to engage in training.

To further promote adult learning, the NRRP aims to put in place a unified model for the functioning and governance of the life-long learning framework. A central IT system will be set up for programmes that meet applicable quality standards. This system will contain a mechanism to identify programmes for acquiring high-value-added competences. The creation of the one-stop-shop online platform for life-long learning by 2023 will consolidate the currently fragmented framework for adult skills development. The system will: provide access to career guidance; gather information on competences acquired during training and on ways to recognise competences/qualifications. At least 21 600 people are expected to be helped to improve their digital skills by 2026.

7. Modernising higher education

The funding model for tertiary education will be revised to further promote quality and efficiency. Lithuania had one of the highest share of people aged 25-34 with a tertiary qualification in the EU in 2020 (56.2% against an EU average of 40.5%), well above the new EU-level target of 45% set for 2030. Nevertheless, tertiary graduates tend to experience vertical and horizontal mismatches in the labour market or have skill levels very close to those of secondary graduates (European Commission, 2020; OECD, 2021). To increase the competence levels of new university students, Lithuania has planned to set uniform minimum requirements for access to publicly subsidised and non-subsidised study places. The minimum requirements for non-subsidised places tend to be lower to allow students who do not meet the admission requirements to enrol as the funding received by tertiary institutions is mainly dependent on the number of enrolments. To improve the labour market relevance of tertiary education, foster internationalisation¹⁴ and ensure stable funds for research, the NRRP plans for a new funding formula to be developed by 2023. Besides a basic contribution from the government to tertiary institutions that is linked to the number of enrolled students, the government will provide additional funding according to performance indicators such as the development of study programmes in areas with high research potential. The idea is to ensure a better allocation of resources, closer cooperation with business, and a concentration of study programmes in fewer areas. A special funding scheme will also be created to incentivise mergers of universities. Recent attempts to consolidate the university network did not bring the expected results (European Commission, 2020) due to a lack of incentives, the absence of consensus around the reform and a lack of central steering. Institutions’ performance will be monitored and assessed through external evaluations – which are currently not being carried out regularly – against a new set of criteria, which were developed between 2019 and 2020. The availability of comparable indicators on the performance of higher-education institutions and the monitoring of their progress would make it possible to implement quality-assurance measures in a timely manner and improve the quality of courses of study (National Audit Office of Lithuania, 2021). Making tertiary education more responsive to the needs of the labour market will be essential to increase youth employment following the economic disruption caused by COVID-19¹⁵.

The mission of universities and colleges will be updated to foster the reorganisation of the network of colleges. An expert group will present a review of this mission by 2022 with the aim of drawing up new criteria for programmes to: (i) better respond to labour market and social needs; and (ii) clarify the different roles of universities and colleges which offer vocationally oriented professional Bachelor’s degrees. Imposing higher quality requirements (such as a higher employment rate of recent graduates) is supposed to help reorganise colleges, increasing the overall efficiency of the higher-education sector. Some colleges will further develop their applied R&D activities in cooperation with local businesses and communities, thus transforming themselves into institutes of applied sciences without university status. Other colleges will merge with vocational schools. The RRF will finance the implementation of 5 projects to consolidate colleges by 2024.

8. References

European Commission (2019). Education and Training Monitor – Volume II. Lithuania.

European Commission (2020). Education and Training Monitor – Volume II. Lithuania.

European Commission (2021a). European Semester 2020-2021 country fiche on disability – Lithuania.

Massoni, E. (2011). Positive Effects of Extra Curricular Activities on Students, ESSAI: Vol. 9, Article 27.

National Audit Office of Lithuania (2018), Ar išnaudojame ikimokyklinio ugdymo galimybes sėkmingesnei vaikų ateičiai užtikrinti https://www.valstybeskontrole.lt/LT/Product/23792/ar-isnaudojame-ikimokyklinio-ugdymo-galimybes-sekmingesnei-vaiku-ateiciai-uztikri

National Audit Office of Lithuania (2020). Do the changes in education determine better learning achievements for pupils? Produktas | Lietuvos Respublikos valstybės kontrolė (valstybeskontrole.lt).

National Audit Office of Lithuania (2021). Is the quality of studies ensured in higher education institutions? Produktas | Lietuvos Respublikos valstybės kontrolė (valstybeskontrole.lt).

OECD (2019a), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, TALIS. https://doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-en.

OECD (2019b), PISA 2018 Results (Volume III): What School Life Means For Students’ Lives, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/acd78851-en.

OECD (2020a), OECD Economic Surveys: Lithuania 2020, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/62663b1d-en.

OECD (2020b), PISA 2018 Results (Volume V): Effective Policies, Successful Schools, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ca768d40-en.

OECD (2021), OECD Skills Strategy Lithuania: Assessment and Recommendations, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/14deb088-en.

Annex I: Key indicators sources

Annex II: Structure of the education system