Lithuania can’t support 14 strong universities – Minister of Education

“The restructuring of the university network is in progress, it was endorsed by the parliament yesterday. The feasibility analysis has been conducted, the potential is scattered, the state cannot ensure competitive and strong operations in fourteen universities today. Therefore, the network will definitely be revised,” Petrauskienė told journalists at the parliament on Wednesday.

“We must rally the fragmented potential of higher education, research and studies, as we all expect and want to have a strong and competitive higher education in Lithuania. The state should draw a line and ensure that this is exactly what higher schools really are,” said the minister.

The parliament on Tuesday adopted a resolution on optimization of the network of state-run universities, urging the government to work out a restructuring plan.

Under a study conducted by the Research and Higher Education Monitoring and Analysis Center (MOSTA) , Lithuania should have 3-5 universities by 2025, in addition to one or two arts academies and the War Academy. Vilnius would be home to two of the universities, one or two academies and the War Academy, while Kaunas should have one or two universities, Klaipėda should have a university or a branch and Šiauliai should have a university branch or a college.

Fourteen state-run universities currently operate in Lithuania.