– We would like to express our solidarity with Poles in the Vilnius region who run schools and send their children, who often struggle with the difficult realities of the educational reform introduced by the Lithuanian government, which leads to restrictions on the autonomy of schools and, consequently, to their liquidation – said the Deputy Marshal in the Sejm on April 24 Krzysztof Bosak.
Politician Confederation he also appealed to the Lithuanian authorities “to act in such a way that so that Polish schools can function, so that young Poles can learn in their native language“.
Apparently, however, the appeal did not convince the Lithuanians. April 25 Trakai District Self-Government Council decided to degrade her status Junior High School Longin Komołowski in Połuknie.
Lithuania. Changes in Polish schools
The councilors decided to revoke the facility's status as a 10-year-old independent school. Now it is to become a branch of the Junior High School. Henryk Sienkiewicz in Landwarów. In an interview with TVP Wilno, councilors pointed out that the case is not new and the proceedings last two years.
They also cite the need for reorganization resulting from the insufficient number of students. In turn, councilors of the Polish faction emphasized that there were national minorities in schools class completion exceptions apply.
– In my opinion, yes clearly a political decision. Whether at the local government level or the level of competition between countries – said councilor Jarosław Narkiewicz in a statement for TVP Wilno. Councilors opposed to the school's degradation want to write a letter to the Ministry of Justice and continue to defend the facility.
Demonstration against changes in Vilnius
This is not the first such situation, because at the end of March the Trakai local government demoted another Polish facility – Primary School named after Andrzej Stelmachowski in Stare Trakai. The unit received the status of an eight-year facility.
Even before the changes – on March 23, about a thousand people took part in a march through the streets of Vilnius and a rally against the planned changes in schools of national minorities. The Lithuanian Ministry of Education wants the compulsory nature of teaching in the minority language to be changed to optional.
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