Education

Everybody has a right to education in Lithuania. The secondary

education is compulsory. Nowadays the life in our country is very difficult

and a lot of young people don’t go to school, they haven’t even got

secondary education. There are a lot of young people, children especially

in big town’s streets. Some of them work washing cars, selling papers, some

beg and some have nothing to do. These youngsters very often commit crimes.

It is very important that every youngster would attend secondary school.

They would bbe busier and couldn’t commit crimes.

Some years ago secondary schools taught the same subjects, had the

same organization of education. Today they are very different: some of them

teach humanitarian subjects, some – science. The school curriculum, the

organization of the lessons, the timing of the holidays, dressing vary from

school to school. Subjects can be taught in three levels even at one

school. You can take your examinations in three different levels too.

Lithuanian children start attending secondary school when they are six or

seven years old. They go to the primary schools which are in the

kindergartens mostly. When they are ten or eleven years old they go to a

secondary school. Pupils can stay at a secondary school for twelve years,

but some of them leave ssecondary school at the end of the ninth form. They

go to vocational junior colleges or manual training schools, where they can

get both secondary education and the qualifications necessary for a job.

Before that these pupils must take the examinations for the General

Certificate of Secondary Education. But not only these, all pupils must

take examinations. Everybody can go to a university after graduating from a

secondary school, vocational junior college or manual training school. The

brightest students have a chance of studying abroad.

Pupils can transfer freely from one school to another. Secondary

education is free. Pupils get their textbooks free, too. But some of higher

schools and universities are not free. Students who have not very good

marks in their Certificates of Secondary Education can study there ttoo. But

they have to pay money. Those pupils who are not very good at learning can

go to evening school. It is easier to study there.

As for me I attended secondary school No.5 in Marijampolė. I start

attending my school when I was six years old. I have been going to this

school for twelve years now. Our school is 24 years old. It is not very

large: there are about 1000 schoolchildren and about 5 teachers in it. I

like my school because tthere are my friends in it, because my school is

famous for skilled teachers. I am on a good footing with them. Some

teachers are not very tolerant to schoolchildren who don’t agree with them,

but most of them are very generous and nice people; I can go if I have a

problem to them. So I am sad at the thought of leaving my school, teachers

and class friends. It is definitely our last year at school so I have to do

my best.

We have a canteen, a library, some cloak rooms, a big sport hall, a

school hall in our school. We have a large playing field near our school.

Inside the school building we have a lot of special classrooms where

different subjects are taught. The biology room is my favourite because

there are many dummies in it. My favourite subjects are English, Biology

and Literature. There are some clubs at our school. We have got basketball

and football teams. There are some singers and a lot of dancers at our

school. On Saturdays we often have dances. We always celebrate various

celebrations: The Day of Valentines, The Day of liars, The Day of teachers.

We have a nice egg exhibitions in spring. But the most impressive is our

New Year carnival.

My parents want me to be a doctor. It is their ambition, and I am

planning to study medicine in Kaunas. I want to become a midwife. It’s a

very responsible and significant profession. I hate having to ask my mum

and dad for money. So I must study. But I don’t want to leave my family

and friends. Anyway, I’m scared of living on my own in a big town. I must

continue learning for the rest of my life.

Education is very important in person’s life. The years when we

attend at school are the happiest. Educated people are intelligent.

The school year begins on the first of September and finishes in

June. The school year is divided into three terms.