Some 300 migrant kids to start learning Lithuanian language in October

Some 300 migrant children will start learning the Lithuanian language in October as stipulated by international and Lithuanian law. There are no plans to teach migrant children other languages.

„Based on the currently available information, around 300 migrant children will start attending lessons on October 1. (..) Under the existing legislation, there’re no possibilities and plans to teach other languages,” Education, Science and Sports Minister Jurgita Siugzdiniene told BNS. Lithuania is now seeking to return migrants to their countries of origin but, the minister said, such processes take time and children’s education is important in the social sense. “We don’t know when and how many migrants will leave our country. Those processes often take time. We don’t know how many children will remain in our country long-term. In any case, teaching children is important in the social sense. Children have the possibility to communicate when learning, distance themselves from their usual environment and play,” the minister said.

Almost 4,200 illegal migrants have come to Lithuania from Belarus so far this year. The majority of them have lodged asylum requests that are being processed by the Migration Department. The latter has already processed over 650 requests and none of them have been satisfied. Vilnius accuses the Minsk regime of orchestrating the unprecedented migration influx, calling it “hybrid aggression”. Lithuania was forced to declare an extreme situation over the influx of migrants and introduced push-backs on the border with Belarus in early August.