From September, the Lithuanian government will no longer fund the education of Ukrainian refugees, but some higher education institutions will continue to provide free education for students. This is stated in messages LRT.
After the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania could study in higher educational institutions of the country for free. Starting this September, new students will no longer be able to take advantage of this opportunity, but those who enrolled earlier will be able to complete their studies for free.
“This is the desire of the Ukrainian side. There are higher educational institutions in Ukraine, and currently there is no need to transfer education to another place.” – the Ministry of Education of Lithuania notes.
Ukrainians who received secondary education and passed their final exams in Lithuania will now be subject to the same general admission rules as Lithuanian citizens and will be able to apply for budget places in state universities and colleges.
Some higher education institutions will continue to support Ukrainian students. Vilnius College, Gediminas Vilnius Technical University and Vytautas the Great University (VDU) have decided to partially or fully finance the studies of Ukrainian students.
This year, Vilnius College decided to fully cover the costs of studying Ukrainians, as well as provide free dormitories and scholarships. The institution is ready to accept 25 students under such conditions.
Vilnius Technical University plans to cover 40% of the cost of education for Ukrainian citizens, and VDU will provide partial scholarships to cover the costs of education and partially reimburse the dormitory fee.
Vilnius University promises to offer monthly grants of 300 euros and free accommodation in dormitories.
Currently, it is not clear how many Ukrainian students these educational institutions will accept. Admission is ongoing, but VDU and Vilnius College note that they have received more applications from Ukrainians this year than in 2022-2023.
Currently, about 1,100 Ukrainians are studying in 17 Lithuanian higher education institutions. The most popular majors among them are business administration, information technology, artificial intelligence systems, architecture, engineering, and communications.
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Lithuanian government has been offering Ukrainian students monthly grants of 300 euros and covering 60% of the tuition fees for undergraduate programs, with universities or colleges funding the rest. For graduate students, the government covered the full cost of education.
The Ministry of Education of Lithuania allocated more than 11 million euros to support Ukrainian students in 2022-2024.
