A new Lithuanian basic school is opening in the northeastern Polish town of Suwalki, which is home to a sizeable ethnic Lithuanian community.
The Education, Science and Sport Ministry says work on the new Lithuanian school in Suwalki started last year.
The Lithuanian consulate in Sejny found suitable premises. The ministry allocated 525,000 euros for the acquisition of the building with a land parcel, and provided another 1 million euros this year for the renovation and adaptation of the building for school purposes.
A Lithuanian kindergarten was opened in the Polish town in 2020 and is now attended by around 40 children. Its founder is the Bishop Antanas Baranauskas Foundation Lithuanian House.
There are also four Lithuanian formal education schools in Poland: the private Ziburys Lithuanian school in Sejny with 104 students, the March 11th Lyceum in Punsk with 103 students, Punsk’s Darius and Girenas Basic School, which uses both Lithuanian and Polish as languages of instruction, with 163 students, and a basic school in Widugiery with 22 students.
There are also three institutions of non-formal Lithuanian education: a Lithuanian school in Warsaw with 55 students, Punsk’s municipality kindergarten, which uses both Lithuanian and Polish as languages of instruction, with 82 children in Lithuanian groups, and the Lithuanian kindergarten in Suwalki with 38 children.
The ministry partially finances the maintenance of Lithuanian schools, allocates funds for education, textbook purchases, digital and other teaching materials, and supports teachers.
In the 2023-2024 school year, six teachers working in Poland are paid an allowance for providing Lithuanian education.
Source: BNS
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