According to the police, schools have received letters about possible threats. Officers emphasize that the situation is being assessed, but currently there is no data suggesting a real danger.
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Persons responsible for the safety of educational institutions are recommended to inspect school premises and pay attention to suspicious objects or circumstances.
If suspicious objects are found, residents and school staff are urged to immediately call the emergency number 112.
Threats are flooding in massively on Monday, as this year’s graduation exam session began in Lithuania – graduates are taking the Lithuanian language and literature exam.
In the morning, about 40 threatening letters were reported, later the number rose to 120, and before noon the police reported that more than 200 reports had already been received (the number is constantly growing), so far no suspicious objects have been found in schools.
They ask to continue education
The police ask school administrations to continue education and the exam process, and residents to remain vigilant.
The National Education Agency also announces that the Lithuanian police are checking and analyzing the available information, but so far no real threat is perceived, students are safe and continue the exam as usual.
“We thank the Lithuanian police for their promptness. The National Education Agency, together with the country’s schools and responsible institutions, is prepared for various scenarios during the session to ensure the smooth running of the session and the safety of participants,” the statement reads.
As BNS wrote, the state graduation exam session begins on Monday for graduates with the Lithuanian language and literature exam. More than 27 thousand twelfth graders are awaiting this exam.
If there are any questions, residents can contact the police information phone number +370 700 60 000.
Evacuation not completed in time
After the threats, it was reported that evacuation began in some Kaunas schools. No reports of evacuations were received from other cities.
“The decision on evacuation in schools is made by the school administration, we do not collect such data,” the Kaunas County Police told 15min when asked about the situation in Kaunas schools.
For example, upon receiving a threatening letter, Kaunas St. Casimir Progymnasium started evacuation but did not even manage to complete it.
“We had left until we received further instructions. Everything is fine, safe, we are not causing panic, and we are successfully continuing the education process.
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You know, we didn’t even fully manage to evacuate. We immediately informed the police, the municipality, and then, without informing students and teachers to leave, we received a message from the police to continue the education process and take no action,” said Palmira Talijūnienė, director of Kaunas St. Casimir Progymnasium, to 15min.
According to her, part of the school community had already left the educational institution, but not everyone.
Regular classes, not an exam session, are currently taking place at this school.
“We did not experience any special disruptions,” the director assured.
The last time this progymnasium received such a threat was in 2023.
Nothing disrupted
“In Kaunas, the education process is proceeding as usual today, and the exam session is not disrupted. Police recommendations and reminders of safety measures were forwarded to all educational institutions.
Currently, we have no information that Kaunas educational institutions have conducted evacuations,” said Ona Gucevičienė, head of the Kaunas Municipality Education Department, to 15min.
Kaunas municipality and services urge not to panic; according to O. Gucevičienė, every report is taken seriously, but educational activities continue as usual.
The National Education Agency promptly informed the country’s schools and, following the Police Department’s recommendations, urged to continue the exam session according to the planned schedule.
V. Mitalas: We sent recommendations
Vilnius Deputy Mayor Vytautas Mitalas, responsible for education in the capital, says that the municipality sent recommendations to schools as soon as information about the threats was received. He says he cannot yet confirm whether all schools continued the learning process, but the recommendations were exactly that.
“I know from both public space and school reports that we are receiving such threats in Vilnius as well, and they are increasing. It may be that such reports are sent in parts and will reach all schools sooner or later.
A few hours ago, we distributed a reminder to schools to assess the situation, organize an internal inspection of premises and territory, and only then make decisions about other matters. In other words, not to stop activities without inspecting themselves and assessing risk factors,” said V. Mitalas.
According to him, the National Education Agency (NEA) has provided recommendations to schools on how to act if possible threats are reported during graduation exams and invites them to follow these algorithms.
V. Mitalas says he discussed such situations with the NEA leadership after the air alert was first announced the week before last due to military drones believed to have entered Lithuanian territory.
“The NEA director assured me that they have algorithms in place. But one thing is algorithms, another is additional, different tasks to organize a re-inspection if it was interrupted and no longer took place. I hope the NEA is prepared for this, as there have been more than two weeks,” the deputy mayor hoped.
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