"We will examine the situation and see if they can be salvaged. The state has earmarked 350,000 litas (EUR 101,450) to the schools in the past but we need to look beyond this year – will the schools be viable in the future, since the number of children is unfortunately dropping," Vaitkus told BNS on Monday.
The money to the schools was provided by the Lithuanian government in the end of 2011. This was the first time Lithuania provided direct aid to schools in Poland. Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaitė then criticized Poland's education policies as adverse to the Lithuanian-language schools.
Last week, the Punsk administration took the last step in the process of closing three Lithuanian-language schools – Vidugirių, Pristavonių and Navinykų. The decision was approved by the region's commissions on education, finance, and economy. The final decision is expected before the end of February.
