The Lithuanian government will no longer be covering tuition fees for Ukrainian refugees, but some universities and colleges say Ukrainian students will still be able to study for free.
Since 2022, Lithuania has allowed Ukrainians who fled the war to study in its higher education institutions for free. Students already enrolled will be able to graduate without paying tuition fees, but as of this September, the scheme will not be available to new students from Ukraine.
“We organise all assistance measures for Ukrainian citizens living in Lithuania in response to the needs of the Ukrainian state, in cooperation and without encouraging brain drain from Ukraine,” the Education Ministry told BNS.
“This is the wish of the Ukrainian side. There are higher education institutions in Ukraine and there is no need to transfer studies elsewhere at the moment,” it added.
As of this year, Ukrainians who have completed secondary education and passed graduation exams in Lithuania will be subject to the same general admission rules as Lithuanian citizens and will be able to apply for state-funded spots in public universities and colleges.
Some universities to continue support
Despite the central government’s decisions, some higher education institutions – Vilnius College, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Vilnius Tech) and Vytautas Magnus University (VDU) – have decided to continue to fully or partially fund the studies of Ukrainian students.
Vilnius College has decided to fully fund the studies of all Ukrainian citizens enrolled this year, as well as to provide free dormitories and scholarships if possible.
“Our position is that in this way our higher education institution can help Ukrainian citizens suffering from the war by giving young people the opportunity to acquire higher education,” Lina Bivainienė, spokeswoman for Vilnius College, told BNS.
The college plans to admit 25 students under these conditions.
meanwhile, Vilnius Tech plans to cover 40 percent of the tuition fees of Ukrainian citizens, while Kaunas-based VDU plans to provide partial scholarships to cover tuition fees and partially reimburse dormitory fees.
Vilnius University does not intend to cover the tuition fee for Ukrainian students but promises to offer monthly grants of 300 euros and free accommodation in dormitories.
It is not yet clear how many students these educational institutions will accept.
“At the moment, it is difficult to predict how many will enrol this year, because the change in the position of our government regarding the funding of Ukrainians will probably change their choices,” Živilė Sederevičiūtė-Pačiauskienė, the vice-rector of Vilnius Tech, told BNS.
Although university admissions for the next academic year continue, VDU and Vilnius College say they received more applications from Ukrainians this year than in 2022 and 2023.
Government allocated 11 millions euros
Ukrainian students are currently studying at 17 Lithuanian higher education institutions, the most popular of which are VU, VDU, Vilnius Tech, Kaunas University of Technology and Vilnius College.
Around 1,100 Ukrainians study at these institutions, around 500 of them at Vilnius University.
The most popular fields of study among Ukrainian students are business administration, information technology, artificial intelligence systems, architecture, engineering, and communication.
Since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the Lithuanian government has been offering monthly grants of 300 euros and covering 60 percent of tuition fees in undergraduate study programmes, with the rest covered by universities or colleges.
For postgraduate programmes, the government has been covering the full cost of studies.
The Ministry of Education has allocated more than 11 million euros to support Ukrainian students in 2022–2024.
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