BM86: Resolution on admission fees to higher education institutions in Lithuania

To implement Article 41 of the Constitution, higher education should be accessible to all according to each person’s abilities, and to achieve equal access, there must be an additional provision for its delivery without creating further financial barriers for students, such as an entrance fee. According to the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania of 18 December 2009, Article 41 of the Constitution provides that the costs of higher education for citizens who are well-educated students at public higher education institutions may not endure any financial burdens. To implement the Constitutional norm, it must be ensured that no external factors, such as changes in the operator of the centralised admission, hurt the financial situation of students. 

According to Article 59 Part 7 of the Law on Science and Studies, centralised coordination of admission to short-cycle, first-cycle, full-cycle and vocational studies is carried out by the procedure laid down by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport. 

Access to studies is one of the fundamental values of higher education, refected not only in national strategies but also in the commitments of the European Higher  Education Area. The only barrier a student should face to enrol in higher education should be his or her academic background, but not his or her socio-economic status. Students already have to pay fees before being admitted to higher education, these fees are payable when signing the contracts without any basis, ranging from €45 to €50. To prevent such and any additional fees related to admission, there must be a legal basis for their abolition. 

We call upon the Parliament of Lithuania and Higher education institutions to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania of 18 December 2009 and to implement Article 41 Part 3 of the Constitution, which states that the costs of higher education for well-educated citizens in public higher education institutions must not be imposed in any form on these individuals themselves. 

The objective of this project is to create a legal norm that prevents the taxation of the admission process to higher education institutions.