Last fall, Lithuania's government decided to earmark 350,000 litas to state-run Lithuanian schools in the neighboring country including 120,000 litas provided from the Privatization Fund in 2011 and further 230,000 litas decided upon during a meeting on Wednesday.
Dainius Numgaudis, chancellor of the Education and Science Ministry, told BNS that the assistance would help the Lithuanian schools in Poland that lack funding from Poland.
"The majority of the population in Punsk is Lithuanian, therefore, it is natural that the school network is also more Lithuanian, the municipality provides funding but the money is insufficient, therefore, the Lithuanian government last year made the decision to earmark this sum. This is all we could provide but this, in any case, will help them complete the academic year – the Punsk municipality already wanted to decide on closure of two schools. The money helped to keep them open," the chancellor said.
In his words, the money will be distributed among five Lithuanian-language schools in Poland.
Lithuania also provides full funding to Žiburys, a non-state school in Sejny.
"Up until now, we have been fully supporting the Sejny Žiburys Gymnasium, which is fully supported by Lithuania, as it does not have the status of a state school – the local administration has not established a Lithuanian school there," Numgaudis said.
Poland's Lithuanian community says the Polish administration has promised to consider higher funding for Lithuanian schools in the country, however, the changes will not occur until 2013.
Half of Poland's Lithuanian schools have been shut down over the past decade.
According to data provided by Lithuania's Embassy to Poland, around 15,000 people of Lithuanian origin reside in Poland, mainly in northeastern districts close to the Lithuanian border.
