The Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania defines that the purpose of education supervision is to observe the accessibility and quality of education as well as to promote education improvement, to provide consultations and to evaluate activities. Education supervision comprises the monitoring of the accessibility and quality of education, provision of consultation to education providers, assistance institutions and education management entities, execution of preventive measures, external evaluation, imposition of sanctions, promotion of education improvement and other measures provided for by the law.
The units of the Quality Assessment Department at the National Agency for Education exercise the state supervision and monitoring of activities of education providers according to their respective functions – the Unit for Education Providers' Risk Assessment, the Evaluation Organisation Unit and the Unit for the Supervision of the Quality of Activities.
Supervision of school activities is performed by the institution which exercises the rights and duties of the owner (a state school – a budgetary institution), the municipal executive body (a municipal school – a budgetary institution), the institution which exercises the rights and duties of the owner (the meeting of the participants) (a state and a municipal school – a public establishment), or the owner (the meeting of the participants) (other schools), by engaging external evaluators where necessary. Supervision of the quality of higher education studies is exercised in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on Higher Education and Research.
The school and the teachers get assistance to improve their activities, seek a better quality of education through consulting, encouraging regular quality self-evaluation of the school’s activities, performing external evaluation of the school’s activities, monitoring education quality and creating conditions for qualification training of teachers.
External evaluation of a school (except higher education institutions) is carried out periodically; it is initiated by the institution which exercises the rights and duties of the owner of the school (a state school – a budgetary institution), the municipal executive body (a municipal school – a budgetary institution), the institution which exercises the rights and duties of the owner (the meeting of the participants) (a state and a municipal school – a public establishment), or the owner (the meeting of the participants) (other schools).
The Minister of Education, Science and Sport lays down the procedure for organising and carrying out the external evaluation of activities of schools implementing pre-school, general education and formal VET curricula. The procedure for external evaluation of activities of non-formal education schools is laid down by the institution which exercises the rights and duties of the owner of a state or a municipal school (the meeting of the participants) or the owner of other schools (the meeting of the participants). The Minister of Education, Science and Sport has approved guidelines in the Methodology for quality assurance of the activities of non-formal children’s education and its providers.
Requirements for appointment
The chief specialists of the Quality Assessment Department units at the National Agency for Education who exercise the state supervision of activities of education providers and the municipal administration staff who exercise the supervision of the municipality's educational activities are career civil servants. Their recruitment, duties and responsibilities, performance appraisal and other aspects of their activities are governed by the Law on Civil Service.
The National Agency for Education performs selection and certification of evaluators for the external evaluation of the quality of activities of the schools delivering general education curricula in accordance with the Rules for the Selection and Certification of External Evaluators to Carry out the External Evaluation of the Schools delivering General Education Curricula.
A person wishing to participate in the selection of external evaluators must meet certain general and specific requirements. General requirements: higher education and a teacher’s professional qualification; at least three years of teaching and/or managerial experience in the education system; and computer literacy skills. Special requirements: to have knowledge of the self-evaluation of the activities of the general education schools and legislation on education; be able to analyse, systematize, and summarize information, draw conclusions and express ideas fluently, both orally and in writing; be able to communicate and collaborate, be an active member of a team and trust others; be able to organize their own work and the work of others promptly and efficiently; be able to make objective decisions and maintain balance between being emotional and rational.
The applicant shall submit a reasoned application, a CV and also an analysis of the lesson observed and its evaluation to the National Agency for Education. The committee for selecting external evaluators of the quality of school activities conducts the selection. The selection process is carried out in two stages: the committee assesses the documents submitted by the applicant and the applicant who meets the general requirements is invited for an interview. During the interview, the members of the committee assess whether the applicant meets the specific requirements.
Conditions of service
The employees of the units of the Quality Assessment Department at the National Agency for Education exercise the state supervision and monitoring of activities of education providers and the municipal administration staff who exercise the supervision of the municipality's educational activities are career civil servants. Their work load is 40-hour week over five days. The working conditions of career civil servants are governed by the Law on Civil Service, the Labour Code, Government resolutions and other legal acts.
During the external evaluation of the quality of the activities of general education schools, external evaluators work under a contract with the National Agency for Education. They remain employed in their main job, but, in agreement with their employer, may carry out the external evaluation of school activities during the time of their unpaid or ordinary leave. Remuneration for the performance of the external evaluation of the school depends on the duration of evaluation and the number of pupils in the school. The hourly rate for evaluation including all taxes is determined at the time of the procurement of services on the basis of the supplier's tender.