The number of students in Lithuanian higher education institutions has almost halved compared to 15 years ago. With universities and colleges risking extinction, the hope is foreign students, but they are still few in Lithuania.
Kaunas’ Vytautas Magnus University (VDU), the second largest university in Lithuania, is starting the new academic year with 7 percent more first-year students than last year.
Enrolment numbers have stabilised in recent years, but there are still several times fewer students than the university would like to have, according to VDU Rector Juozas Augutis.
“As student numbers shrink, the number of lecturers naturally shrinks as well, but this tendency is threatening for Lithuania,” he says.
According to the State Data Agency, there were about 210,000 students studying in Lithuania’s higher education institutions 15 years ago. Today, the number is half that.
As the number of young students is decreasing, those who want to retrain or acquire a second profession could help universities survive, notes Diana Rėklaitienė, Rector of the Lithuanian Sports University (LSU).
“Universities will have to organise more training, seminars, and refresher courses that will help people in certain competencies – not necessarily to get a bachelor’s or master’s degree, but just to deepen their knowledge,” she says.
Meanwhile, the head of Kaunas College, Andrius Brusokas, stresses that competition for students among higher education institutions in Lithuania is high, and the winners are those attracting students from abroad.
“We are looking at the Asian and African markets. We have certain strategies in place to reach those regions, but every year, there is uncertainty because the students can choose other universities and colleges,” he says.
But foreign students in Lithuania are still few, according to Gintaras Serafinas, editor of the magazine Reitingai. To attract more of them, Lithuania must reduce bureaucratic restrictions, he says.
As of July, however, Lithuania has changed the procedure for non-EU nationals wishing to study in the country. Instead of one-year visas, prospective students have to apply for residence permits.
Further reading
From next year, the requirements for enrolling at Lithuanian higher education institutions will get stricter even for local students. Entrants to higher education – both state-funded and paid – will have to pass at least three state exams. This may further reduce the number of students, according to Serafinas.
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