Lituanistų Sambūris, an association of scholars and teachers of the Lithuanian language and literature, issued a public letter to Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and leaders of the ruling parties, including Viktor Uspaskich of the Labor Party, Rolandas Paksas of the Order and Justice party, and Valdemar Tomaševski of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania.
"The Political Council of your parties has made the decision to change the procedure of the Lithuanian language and literature exam. Ignoring written arguments of Lituanistų Sambūris, the minister of education and science executed the Political Council's decision and with his order changed the procedure. We state that this decision of yours is wrong and bad for the Lithuanian culture, civil community, and the state. It has in fact increased inequality among Lithuanian youth who receive education in different languages, depreciated the Lithuanian language and culture not only in Polish and Russian but also Lithuanian schools," the letter reads.
In response to demands from the ruling Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, Lithuanian language examination tasks for ethnic minority graduates were facilitated.
A group of opposition members of the Lithuanian Seimas appealed against such a ministerial decree, saying that it ran counter to the Law on Education and the country's Constitution.
