Schools and kindergartens are preparing to receive the children of German soldiers who are being redeployed to Lithuania. Relatively few are coming this September, but in the future Lithuania may need to build new schools for them.
The kindergarten Dainorėliai in Vilnius is undergoing major repairs: the building’s windows are covered with plastic and workers are putting fresh paint on its walls.
Although it is only weeks until the beginning of the academic year, the renovation work should be completed before September 1. Just in time to receive pupils from Germany – children of servicemen and servicewomen of the new German brigade that is gradually being deployed to Lithuania.
“At the moment we are preparing one group for the German children. A few children will arrive in September, but we have agreed on up to 20. We don’t know their ages yet,” comments Alina Kowalewska, chief adviser of the Vilnius Municipality Administration.
A class for German children should also be ready in the autumn at the Aleksandras Stulginskis School in Kaunas.
Minister of Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas says that, in total, around 700 minors could come to Lithuania with the German soldiers.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport says that there will probably be one German school in Vilnius and one in Kaunas in the future. However, it is not yet clear whether the cities will have to construct new buildings for the schools or house them in existing ones.
“To fully comply with German requirements, new construction from scratch would be the best option, but it would take time. If we want a quicker solution, it is possible, but we would have to sacrifice some elements and we would not be able to meet the requirements,” explains Julius Lukošius, the chancellor of the Education Ministry.
“We could retrofit one of the buildings in Vilnius, but we just need to note that the buildings that are easily adaptable to schools are already occupied by schools in Vilnius,” he adds.
While the government launched a massive construction of a new miliary training ground for the Germans this week, opposition politicians say that it is civil infrastructure that could be the main challenge.
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“This issue, given the way our education and health systems function, can probably be crucial and sensitive. I am not entirely convinced that the civilian infrastructure will be as good as the military one,” admits MP Saulius Skvernelis, a member of the parliamentary National Security and Defence Committee.
“There should be enough classrooms in Kaunas, because they want to study together with Lithuanians, they don’t want an isolated environment, they want to integrate,” responds Defence Minister Kasčiūnas. “And we will if there is a need for one school and one kindergarten in Vilnius.”
The timetable for developing military infrastructure has not been made public. The defence minister insists that so far everything is on schedule and the German troops will be moved gradually: 200 this year, 800 next year, and the rest later. As a result, there is no need to prepare for all of them at once.
Most of the Germa brigade will be stationed at the Rūdnininkai training ground. However, if the infrastructure is not ready in time, Kasčiūnas says that “plan B” would be letting them use the Lithuanian military’s facilities.
According to the plan, around 5,000 German soldiers and civilians should be stationed in Lithuania by the end of 2027. Germany has said that the pace of the relocation will depend on Lithuania’s readiness to receive the troops and their families.
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