Admission to the capital’s schools starts on the 1st of March: what should be known?

Electronic applications are admittable until the 31^st of May, so, there is no need to hurry – the time of application will not affect priority. If competition is organized for admission to the chosen school or the school has a specialised educational programme (engineering, sport, etc.), or elements of particular pedagogical system, the applications have to be submitted earlier – until the 31st of March. The residents are welcome to learn about the admission procedures to the educational institutions available on their websites and in the column “Relevant information” on the website www.svietimas.vilnius.lt and they are encouraged to submit the requested additional documents on time.

It is easy and convenient to submit an application – all you have to do is to register at svietimas.vilnius.lt, using e-banking or other electronic identification means.

• E-applications have to be submitted by parents of future first-formers, children changing schools, children transferred from progymnasiums to gymnasiums, and by parents of the children, who have moved to the capital.
• The schoolchildren transferred to the programme of higher level – fifth, ninth (1^st gymnasium) and 3^rd gymnasium form at the same school shall submit an application in free form to the school’s principal.

What are the novelties that will come into force in 2022?

The Council of Vilnius City passed resolution No. 1-1316 on 2 February 2022, whereby it renewed the description of admission to general education schools in Vilnius City (hereinafter – Description) and the maps of territories served by general education schools. The territories served by schools are available at https://maps.vilnius.lt/maps_vilnius/.

The Council specified and added criteria for admission of children with special educational needs into the resolution, as well as the criteria for admission of adopted children, foster children, wards, children of employees of diplomat corps, and children of the transferred professional soldiers belonging to the national defence system of the Republic of Lithuania. The criterion of the rented housing shall not be valid any more. The criteria were added for children, whose parent (custodian, carer) and the child himself/herself had declared their place of residence in the territory attributed to respective school 6 or more years ago (the term of declaration is calculated as of the data of the 1^st of June during the first meeting, and later the date of respective meeting shall be applied), and 4 points are given.

Besides, the conditions were created to correct e-applications for persons, who apply to schools, where competition for admission is organized or to schools that have a specialised educational programme (engineering, sport, etc.), or elements of particular pedagogical system, and who are not admitted (they will be able to revise e-applications on the 30^th-31^st of May), and to help the children entitled to social pedagogical, special pedagogical and special help to enter the territorial school out of turn. The clause of the Description on the priority of persons with physical disability to be admitted to the closest adapted school was left.

The most important issues related to completion of e-application

3 educational institutions may be indicated when an e-application is filled in. It is important to note that one of the selected schools has to be the school according to the declared place of residence. If the school according to the declared pace of residence is not indicated, e-system will not allow to submit the application.

The applications submitted in e-system will be transmitted automatically to all the schools indicated in the application and they will organise admission further.

If the school receives more applications than it has vacances, it shall act in accordance with the criteria of priority and admission out of turn provided in the Description. For example, the priority is applied to orphans, children from multi-child families, twins, etc., as well as to the children, whose parent and the child himself/herself declared their residence in the school’s territory two-six years ago.

The parents will receive invitations to schools, where competition for admission is organized or to schools that have a specialised educational programme (engineering, sport), or elements of particular pedagogical system in May already. Invitations of the remaining education schools will be sent in the beginning of June. Besides, the parents will be notified separately by the provided e-mail address. The pupil’s parents will have to confirm one of the received invitations in the e-system and to sign e-contract with the educational institution. We would like to note that children will be able to receive all the possible invitations from educational institutions and to make their decision then. The invitations received in May do not disappear from the e-system until the 5^th of June. The lists of the invited pupils according to the assigned registration number (MOK-0000) will be available on the schools’ websites.

The relevant information on admission in e-system is available to all Vilnius residents in the column “General education” on the website svietimas.vilnius.lt.

Photo by Saulius Žiūra