Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Petro Beshta said this in an interview with Ukrinform, Ukraine’s national news agency.
„In Lithuania, there are three full-fledged schools that have received not only accreditation from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine but also local, Lithuanian accreditation. They teach in Ukrainian, with the compulsory study of Lithuanian. These are the ISU (the International School of Ukraine – ed.) with several branches, the Kharkiv school ’Gravity’ in Vilnius, and the school ’Heroiam slava’ in Kaunas. More than 3.3 thousand of our children receive education in these schools,“ Beshta said.
According to him, an effective organizer, Olena Vnukovska, made a great contribution to the opening of the network of schools in Lithuania. The first school was in Vilnius, followed by branches in Kaunas, Klaipėda, and Šiauliai.
„The state finances an educational subvention of EUR 275 per child. From these funds, Ukrainian schools pay teachers, including taxes,“ the ambassador explained.
He added that according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, more than 12 thousand Ukrainian children of all ages are currently registered in the country. Of these, 9,640 are schoolchildren and just over 2.6 thousand are preschoolers. Moreover, 600 Ukrainian teachers work in Lithuania.
„And we should also mention students: 877 Ukrainians are currently studying at Lithuanian universities,“ the Ukrainian diplomat said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, as of April 2024, 85,000 Ukrainians have found refuge in Lithuania and received temporary protection status. The government of this country promotes the integration and adaptation of refugees at all levels of public life.