„I didn’t have time to review in detail, but yes, there can definitely be more such authors there,“ the minister told journalists on Monday when asked if there could be more questionable authors in the national minority programs.
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M. Lomonosov is listed as an elective author in the Russian national minority native language and literature program, intended for teaching in the ninth – I gymnasium – grade.
Currently, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is reviewing the mentioned program and promises to make a decision on possible changes by the end of August.
Last week, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius proposed to amend the general education school programs adopted in 2022 and “stop teaching Lithuanian students patriotism and citizenship from the texts of M. Lomonosov, a writer who glorified Russian imperial wars.”
Soon after, in an interview with the M-1 news service, he hinted that experts will also conduct a broader review of authors included in national minority education programs.
According to him, the Ukrainian literature classic Taras Shevchenko could be included in school programs. Such a proposal received support in Kyiv.
According to R. Popovienė, education programs are constantly being reviewed.
“We will definitely gradually review other programs as well,” she assured.
M. Lomonosov was an 18th-century Russian scientist and writer who discovered that Venus has an atmosphere. He wrote scientific and literary works, including “A Letter on the Rules of Russian Versification,” the ode “On the Occasion of the Capture of Khotyn,” and the treatise “A Word on the Usefulness of Chemistry.”
According to Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas, the idea of removing the Russian writer from the program is worth discussing.
“It was such a strange decision to make Lomonosov a poet and teach his verses to Lithuanian students,” the politician told journalists.
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