Students: we seek funding based on competences, not grades
Students: we seek funding based on competences, not grades
At the meeting of student representatives and higher education experts held today, September 17, the position of the Lithuanian Students' Union on the definition of the concept of a "well-educated citizen" was presented. The meeting was attended by Saulė Mačiukaite-Žvinienė, advisor to the President, Orinta Leiputė, member of the Education, Science and Culture Committee of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, and Alfonsas Daniūnas, president of the Conference of Rectors of Lithuanian Universities, rector of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU).
Currently, an amendment to the Law on Science and Studies is submitted to the Seimas, which proposes to consider students whose average academic results are better than "seven" as good learners. LSS strongly opposes this proposal. A survey conducted by LSS in the spring revealed that the majority of students claim that the value of a "seven" grade is different in different higher education institutions and in different study programs, because there is no unified culture of results evaluation in Lithuania, and student representatives also emphasize that the modern approach to higher education in western countries is more related to the competences acquired by the students than to their evaluation scores.
"The problem regarding the definition of the concept of "well-educated citizen" has been resolved for several years. Unanimous consensus is not found, and the debate about the score, whether a good student is one who studies with an average of 7 or 8 or 7.01 continues to lead us to a dead end. We notice a clear lack of innovative ideas and a modern approach to higher education. It seems that the decision, which will determine the future of future and existing students, is to be made as quickly as possible, regardless of the opinions of the students themselves, nor the elementary principles of rationality. In order to achieve the most favorable solution for students, we are introducing a new definition of the term, which is the basis of financing of higher education in more than one Western European country", says LSS president P. Baltokas.
Not grades, but competencies
Students' representatives suggest introducing a different approach to financing higher education in Lithuania and linking the concept of a "well-educated citizen" not to a specific grade, but to students' competencies.
"The main goal of the studies is to provide students with knowledge and competences, which they will later be able to apply when successfully integrating into the labor market. It is probably rare that an employer checks a student's grade point average and selects an employee based on that. By issuing a diploma, the higher education institution guarantees the employer and the state that this person has relevant knowledge and skills in the field in which he studied. Therefore, we should consider a good student to be such a student who, within a semester or a year, fulfills the study objectives provided for in the study program, that is, acquires the required competencies. We believe that the expression of the proposed model would be reflected in such a system, when a student successfully fulfills the requirements of 24 credits in half a year, and 48 credits in a year", says P. Baltokas. The advisor to the President Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė, who participated in the meeting, also emphasized the importance of study quality in the study process.
"Our proposed definition is completely new in Lithuania, but a similar model exists in Denmark. The Lithuanian Students' Union believes that this is the right way to move towards a new concept of study quality and student-oriented learning. The definitions are fully in line with the Bologna process and its main statements, which speak about student-centered teaching and the importance of competencies for his further career. Such a definition does not contradict the interpretations of the Constitutional Court", says P. Baltokas.
On his part, A. Daniūnas, president of the Lithuanian Rectors' Conference and rector of VGTU, says that it will be difficult to find a rotation model suitable for everyone, but he admits that linking the concept of a good student to one specific grade is flawed. "Each higher education institution has a different assessment culture, as well as assessments of different fields of study, so the introduction of one grade would create unequal conditions for students studying in different fields of study," says A. Daniūnas.
According to Seimas member Orinta Leiputė, evaluation by grade is subjective, but the Seimas has to make a decision on rotation, because due to a decision not taken in the last Seimas session, today we have a situation where students were not rotated and, showing good study results, lost the opportunity to transfer to state-financed places.
Calculations: half a million euros will be needed for compensation
August 21 The Lithuanian Students' Union appealed to higher education institutions, asking them to determine how many students lost the opportunity to transfer to state-funded places due to the created legal vacuum and poor rotation in higher education institutions.
- Baltokas claims that this situation arose due to last year's November the decision of the Constitutional Court, which recognized that the rotation currently defined in the Law on Science and Studies of the Republic of Lithuania does not comply with the Constitution. "At that time, the Constitutional Court explained that students with an average of 5.6 or 6.4 cannot be called "well-educated citizens", and according to the Law on Science and Studies, students with an average of 20% do not lose their study basket. worse than the course average provided such opportunities", P. Baltokas comments on the situation.
According to the president of the LSS, in the last session of the Seimas, without a decision on the new rotation procedure, we faced the situation that there are currently about 300 students in the universities who showed good study results and, if the rotation had taken place, should have taken state-financed places.
"According to our calculations, about half a million euros will be needed to pay the tuition fees for the students who were supposed to receive state-funded places. The money is big, I'm happy that the Seimas obliged the Ministry of Education and Science to look for financial compensation for the damage, and we can only hope that the money will be found and students will not suffer due to loopholes in the legal regulation", says P. Baltokas.
Contact person:
Lucija Sabulytė
Lithuanian Students' Union
Head of Communications
Phone: 8 696 37829
email e-mail: liucija.sabulyte@lss.lt
