“Millennium Schools“ programme can give children equal opportunities, says European Commission

“The Millennium Schools“ programme can help give all children equal opportunities, according to the European Commission’s Education and Training Monitoring Bulletin 2022. 

The Millennium Schools programme, part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, can help give all children, regardless of where they live, equal opportunities and improve overall learning outcomes. The programme promotes networking between municipalities and schools that choose to participate,” says the report published in November. 

It notes that the country’s education system is currently characterised by an urban-rural divide, with almost four times as many children dropping out of school in the latter than in the former. 

It also notes that there is a significant urban-rural gap in tertiary attainment in the 25-34 age group. 

The Commission notes that in order to ensure that all municipalities benefit from the Millennium Schools Programme, “it is important that the monitoring of the implementation of the programme and the management of the process are carried out at central level”. 

The “Millennium Schools” programme, initiated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, envisages providing support to 150 schools selected by municipalities by mid-2026, which meet the established criteria, to improve the learning environment, purchase equipment, tools, create new or renewed infrastructure, and develop the competences of school leaders and teachers. 

The Ministry has indicated that a total of 210 million euros are planned for this programme. 

The monitoring report highlights that the current assessment system in Lithuania focuses on subject knowledge rather than students’ complex skills. 

“It is proposed that intermediate assessments be carried out in the last two years of school, the results of which would be included in the final school-leaving assessments. This is intended to provide more incentives for pupils to focus their efforts earlier and more fully on the secondary curriculum, rather than focusing disproportionately on the two subjects of the final exams,” the report notes.  

The 2022 Education and Training Monitoring Bulletin was finalised on 30 September this year. 

Original source: https://www.vz.lt/verslo-valdymas/2022/11/27/tukstantmecio-mokyklu-programa-vaikams-gali-suteikti-lygias-galimybes-sako-ek#ixzz8lzUUAZZo