In October 2020, The Conservatives, the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (HU-LCD) won the Seimas (parliament) elections, acquiring 50 seats in the Seimas. HU-LCD and two liberal parties that also entered the parliament – the Liberal Movement (LM), with 11 seats and the Freedom Party (FP), also with 11 seats – formed a coalition, creating a centre-right Government. The Government has chosen to appoint politicians as ministers (more than half of the 14 ministers are also members of the Seimas). Jurgita Šiugždinienė, a member of the HU-LCD party, a doctor of social sciences with more than 15 years of work experience in the field of public administration, has been appointed Minister of Education, Science and Sports. She was previously Vice-Rector for Studies and Interim Rector at Kaunas University of Technology. The Minister's prioritised goals during the term of this Government are, equal starting positions for all Lithuanian children, good working conditions for teachers and world-class science (together with teacher training). Artūras Žukauskas, a member of the FP party, a physicist and academic, was appointed Chair of the Seimas Committee on Education and Science. Previously, he had been the Rector of Vilnius University from 2015 to 2020.

The 2020-2024 Government programme. In its four-year work programme, the Government has set out key missions. The first mission is "Equal starting positions for all Lithuanian people". The Government has set itself the following tasks in this mission as a priority:

• High-quality early childhood education, accessible to all.
• Good schools and modern education content, accessible to all.
• Attractive teacher workplaces and centres of excellence for teacher education.
• Leadership in digital education.
• World-class science.
• Top quality, international and affordable studies.
• Modern, efficient and mission-oriented higher education management.
• A vocational training system that meets the needs of the market.
• The opportunity for lifelong learning for every Lithuanian resident.

The Government, taking into account the fact that the changes in education will be implemented over more than one term, initiated the drafting of a National Agreement on Education so that party representatives would agree on and adhere to the basic principles of education until 2030, regardless of who wins the next election. The content of the document was discussed by representatives of the parliamentary parties and two members from the mixed group, the Head of Administration for the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities and Chair of the Lithuanian Education Council. An agreement was signed on 1 September 2021. The contracting parties have agreed on key commitments in the field of education for 2021–2030 and set out concrete actions that will ensure the continuity of long-term decisions in the field of education, the coherence and direction of educational development, and a sustainable increase in education funding.

The party that came second in the election, winning 21 seats in the Seimas, is the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LFGU). The LFGU has also formed a shadow government, with Eugenijus Jovaiša, the former Chair of the Seimas Committee on Education and Science, an academic and archaeologist, as shadow Minister of Education, Science and Sports. The remaining seats are shared by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), with 12 seats, the Labour Party (LP), with 10 seats, and a mixed group, which consists either of individual members of parties which are not included in the Seimas or politicians who nominated themselves as independents and were elected. Later, a new faction, the Democratic faction, On Behalf of Lithuania, were formed (15 members) The next Seimas elections will take place in 2024.

According to the State Data Agency, more than 74,000 war refugees, including more than 19,000 children aged 6-17, have arrived in Lithuania over the course of the year since Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022. Around 12,000 children from Ukraine attend Lithuanian schools and kindergartens. Currently, 61% of pupils study in Lithuanian, 20% in Russian and 17% in Ukrainian. Three municipal schools and three private schools, two of them in Vilnius, are working under Ukrainian programmes.

At the beginning of 2023, the Government allocated 38 million euros to finance the education needs of Ukrainians who have come to Lithuania because of the war. The largest part of the funding, over 31 million euros, is for the education of children in state, municipal and private schools, and for their transport to and from school. Four million euros has been earmarked for scholarships, partial reimbursement of tuition fees and other support for students who come from Ukraine and are studying in our country's public higher education institutions. An additional 2.9 million euros will be earmarked for the education of newly-arrived children entering the country's educational institutions.

Economic situation

Lithuania, like the rest of world, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the first cases of the disease were recorded, strict quarantine was introduced on 15 March 2020 – non-essential shops were closed and services were prohibited. Public sector workers began to work remotely, with the private sector also being encouraged to pivot to remote working. Following the shutdown of businesses, many employees were put on downtime. Parents of pre-school and primary school children were given a childcare allowance while kindergartens were closed; primary education moved to remote learning.

After a short respite from quarantine during the summer and early fall of 2020, it was reintroduced in the November. Hospitality and entertainment services were closed. Extremely strict quarantine measures were imposed from mid-December 2020, when the number of infections reached three to four thousand daily, was accompanied by a huge increase in the number of deaths. These strict quarantine measures remained in place for the first two months of 2021 in an effort to control the pandemic. However, the restrictions were eased once the pandemic was under control. In March 2021, following the detection of virus mutations in Lithuania and despite the gradual introduction of the vaccination, restrictions on hospitality, recreation, entertainment and leisure services remained in force. Since the beginning of 2022, restrictions have been relaxed.

According to the State Data Agency, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.2% in 2022^[i]. The 2022 annual inflation rate was 20%, with unemployment reaching 6.4% in the last quarter of the year. There is an increasing shortage of workers in certain sectors, such as construction and transport, with companies hiring third country nationals in an effort to manage the situation. In 2018, Lithuania became a fully-fledged member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Joining this organization has required the country to improve its education standards. As a member of OECD, Lithuania uses the latest OECD research and uses OECD experts to assess the educational situation across various aspects. Research data is used to inform policy decisions.

In 2015 Lithuania joined the Eurozone. The strict criteria required for the country to join and be part of the Eurozone (e.g. the level of inflation, the extent of State debt, etc.), help to balance the country's budget and keep it from significantly exceeding the financial possibilities of the country.

Expenditure of the State and municipalities on education, compared to GDP (percent)

Source: State Data Agency

In light of the fact that the National Education Strategy 2013–2022 was adopted by the Seimas, it can reasonably be assumed that the political parties have agreed to retain no less than 6% of GDP for education. At the same time, during discussions on the National Agreement on Education, there have been indications that an increase in expenditure on education, i.e., expenditure per pupil/student in relation to the GDP, are being considered.

Rate of lifelong learning (people aged 25-64 years), percent

Source: State Data Agency.

Urban residents tend to be more active in learning than those in rural areas. Statistics show that in 2022 the level of lifelong learning in urban areas was at 9.7%, compared to 6% in rural areas. The gap between women and men in lifelong learning was about 3.5%, regardless of location. It was observed that the number of men studying, increased slightly more than that of women. Compared to 2019, the general number of learners increased. This could be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which people spent more time on self-education.

Education of population aged 15 and above, (thousands)

Source: State Data Agency.

The number of people who have completed tertiary education is increasing every year in Lithuania (currently there are no study programmes at ISCED level 5). According to the State Data Agency, 59.6% of the Lithuanian population aged 30-34 had attended higher education in 2020. Comparing residents according to the their level of education and geographic location, there are more people with higher education in urban settings, and in rural areas, more have secondary or post-secondary education, or vocational qualifications. In both urban and rural areas more women than men have acquired higher education. Meanwhile, more men than women have completed lower secondary or upper secondary general education along with professional qualifications, irrespective of their location.