As the chief specialist of the Klaipėda Municipality Education Department, Asta Trušaitė, told the news portal VE.lt, the situation of children’s admission to preschool education institutions changes every year.
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The main problem remains the uneven distribution of educational places in different parts of the city. Currently, as of August 12, 2026, there are about 1000 free places in preschool education institutions in Klaipėda city.
“We also observe demographic changes. From 2020 to 2025, the number of children born in Klaipėda decreased from 1322 to 949, i.e. by 28.2%. Accordingly, the number of children attending preschool education institutions is also decreasing – the number of children aged 2-6 decreased by 14.7% during this period, from 8613 to 7347,” A. Trušaitė named the reasons for the emptying of kindergartens.
According to her, the largest decrease in the number of children is observed in the 3-5 year age groups, which make up the largest part of preschool education institutions. The only age group in which growth was observed until 2024 is 1-year-old children.
In 2022-2023, 1.11% of children did not get into Klaipėda nurseries-kindergartens, while a year ago this figure was 1.52%.
“In 2023-2024, it was determined that the city can provide educational places for all children, but not all children get into the institutions preferred by their parents. After the main admission, 169 children were waiting in line, although there were about 592 free places in the southern part of the city,” commented the representative of the Education Department.
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In 2024-2025, the number of those waiting decreased to 114 children. At the same time, there were no free places in the central and northern parts of the city, while there were 856 free places in the southern part of the city. However, only a small part of them was allocated for children aged 1.5-3 years, whose demand remains the highest.
From September 1, a kindergarten “Tauras” will start operating in the northern part of the city, with 190 places planned.
There are a total of 61 kindergartens in Klaipėda city. Of these, 46 are municipal institutions: 42 nurseries-kindergartens, 3 school-kindergartens, and 1 Vision Education Center.
There are also 15 private educational institutions in the city, of which 8 are preschool. Another 5 general education schools provide preschool or pre-primary education, and 2 institutions are school-kindergartens.
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