Let’s remember the former prime minister’s start – it was a statement about a 4-day workweek. Without delay, the Minister of Education rushed to support it: “A 4-day workweek for education: we should look for the best solutions.” This shows either a complete relaxation of our politicians or a showy concern for society, or perhaps a lack of understanding of what is happening in the world… After all, the world is now moving in a hard-to-predict direction, and the consequences for both the economy and all other areas are unknown.
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This attitude is especially evident when talking about education. The Seimas repealed the amendment to the Education Act adopted by the previous parliament, according to which secondary education would be obtained by passing three state maturity exams. The requirement to pass the basic education achievement test (PUPP) in the 10th grade with at least a grade of four was abandoned. The decision is motivated by the desire to ensure system stability, avoid sudden changes, and, most importantly, reduce the stress experienced by students.
During the week, we heard many arguments in the public space. What shocked me the most was not the decision itself, but its logic.
The Minister of Education says: “Our main goal is stability, so that the exam is without fear and stress for the child.” Others suggest abandoning the passing threshold altogether and issuing maturity certificates based on actual exam results, because, allegedly, “it is nonsense not to issue a certificate after twelve years of study.”
One of the main arguments is the large gap between exam tasks and curricula… But exam tasks are not created by Martians, but by institutions coordinated by the same Ministry of Education. Could the ministry’s inability to find a connection between curricula and exam tasks condemn our children to remain uneducated in the future?
In school, it is important not just to spend twelve years, but to actually learn.
But is the goal of school really to protect the child from stress?
After all, learning is not a leisure activity. It is work. And every job has a result for which one must be accountable. If we no longer demand effort from children for results, can we expect them to understand that in school it is important not just to spend twelve years, but to actually learn?
I am not a control maniac, but based on personal experience – I raised 3 children – I can confidently say that the 17th-century philosopher and educator John Locke was right when he said: “The child’s mind is like a clean slate. If adults do not instill rules and knowledge through discipline, chaos will fill this space. Freedom without reason and knowledge is not freedom, but danger.”
The task of the education system is to provide basic knowledge, reveal the child’s talents, and shape a person who can achieve results through persistent work. We need this very much because the numbers leave no room for illusions.
The OECD report on adult skills tested in 2023 shows that as many as 44% of Lithuanian adults have only low basic skills. That is, they have reached only the first or lower level in reading or numeracy.
Lithuania’s indicator is the fourth worst among all tested countries. On average, 31% of adults in OECD countries have low basic skills, while in Estonia it is only 23%, and in Latvia 37%.
Low basic skills mean that people find it harder to find clearly presented information in a short text, understand simple instructions, fill out basic forms, or perform everyday calculations with common numbers and units of measurement.
The OECD report emphasizes that adults with low basic skills participate in the labor market about one-third less often, and those working earn on average about 5 US dollars less per hour than adults with average skills. Moreover, adults with low skills more often report poorer health, are less satisfied with life, and trust institutions and other people less.
The worst thing is not that results are deteriorating. The worst thing is that we are beginning to get used to them.
The worst thing is not that results are deteriorating. The worst thing is that we are beginning to get used to them. This is not just an education problem. It is a problem of the state’s competitiveness, economy, and our future.
All of Europe is returning “back to basics,” i.e., strengthening the development of basic skills, not softening the assessment of those skills. This direction is important for us too.
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It is no coincidence that the request initiated by “Education #1” to the President to veto the Seimas decision to abolish the 10th-grade threshold was signed by as many as 35 organizations – including universities, associations of teachers and schools and their leaders, student and pupil unions, support funds, and large business associations.
We already see that responsibility and hard work are not the main pillars of our society today. In many cases, the main goal of our people is simply to be happy, delegating their responsibility to others and not worrying about the future, because someone will come and take care of us. Can we really afford such luxury? Does this state really function so well and have a solid foundation under its feet that we can simply not worry about anything because everything will “somehow come from somewhere”?
Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat different. The state today grows not where value is created, but where it administers itself. Data from the State Control show that there is little to resist: the number of employees in public administration institutions increased by 3% over two years, with expenses for their salaries amounting to 634 million euros. The government sector debt at the end of 2025 reached 33.3 billion euros and increased by 3.3 billion euros over the year. The debt-to-GDP ratio rose to 39.5% last year. And we all understand that state commitments to defense and social welfare will continue to grow in the future.
So fundamental state decisions have long been needed both in education and in public state finances and governance. But do we have leaders and politicians today who can ensure the adoption of important decisions for the state? The history of government perturbations in recent years shows that we are still searching.
The paradox: more than 30 years have passed since the restoration of independence. Several generations have been born and grown up in independent Lithuania, yet we still lack leaders. And here, willingly or not, I recall a story attributed to Plato, which, in my opinion, explains a lot.
Imagine you are preparing to cross a dangerous ocean. The ship owner is rich but knows nothing about sailing. The crew chooses a captain. A man steps forward who has never navigated but knows too little about navigation to realize his incompetence. He trusts himself not because he is competent, but because he has never faced real complexity. He promises calm seas, a short journey, and success for all. And he sincerely believes this because he does not understand what he does not know.
Meanwhile, an experienced navigator stands in the corner. He warns about approaching storms, a dangerous route, and the need to prepare for difficulties. But his speech sounds less confident because he understands the complexity of the situation. He talks about risks, backup plans, and what might fail.
The crew chooses the confident amateur rather than the cautious expert. They confuse confidence with competence and eloquence with professionalism. The ship sinks.
For Plato, this was not just a metaphor. The ship was the state, and the crew were the citizens. He observed how people repeatedly choose charismatic amateurs instead of competent leaders. More than two thousand years have passed, technologies, economy, and states have changed, but one mistake remains the same – we still too often confuse confidence with competence.
We increasingly talk about what the state must give to a person. Much less often do we talk about what kind of society we need to raise.
A strong state does not start with bigger benefits, new programs, or another promise to take care of the person. It starts with people who can think, take responsibility, and create. An entrepreneur creates jobs. A teacher creates the person of the future. A doctor creates a healthier society. Parents create a family. They all do the same – take responsibility.
Therefore, the greatest task of politicians is not to make a person dependent on the state. The greatest task of society is to help a person become strong. Because a strong state does not start with strong power. It starts with a strong person.
When the majority of society lives by the principle that no one else is responsible for you but yourself – then change will come.
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