| School Student Organisation in Lithuania in common |
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School student organisation and school student bodies All school students aged 12 (at local school level) can be members of different school student organisations. There are three level organisations: school, town and national. Most of the schools have Student Councils. Every school Student Council may be a member of its town Student Council, and all town Students may be a members of the LMS (Lithuanian School Student Union). The LMS is one of the two national school student organisations in Lithuania. In addition, there are many different youth organisations. They unite people with the same interests (e.g. abstainers, travellers, helping homeless people etc.). These organisations are non-political ones. But there are also some youth organisations with a political background e.g. the Lithuanian Liberal Youth, the Young Centrists and others. About representative school student structures in Lithuanian schools There are representative structures in most Lithuanian schools. It has been increasing since the independence of Lithuania (11 March 1990). The elections of the representatives can take place in three different ways:
It is up to every individual school to decide how many school students should be in the council. Involvement of school students in the development of schools and the education system Every school student has the right to complain about what he/she is not pleased with at school. The student can apply to his school`s Student Council and discuss the matter. Then the Student Council can make a decision and appeal to the higher authority, e.g. school staff or the Lithuanian School Student Union. Representation of school students in governmental bodies The LMS and other youth organisations, governmental authorities organise conferences, seminars, debates, discussions where school students can express their opinion and complain about certain issues to the heads of the education system. To which extent are school students heard? If an issue is crucial to a great extent, the school students can be heard at a high level. Elements that help or hinder good representation Since we the staff of the LMS are still school students we are in touch with the reality of real pupils life, their concerns and desires. This is one the best elements which helps us in our organisational work. Another positive element of a good representation is a lot of stimulation for it from the government, which is also passed on by teachers and motivates many school students to get involved. However, the negative side is that this stimulation is generally only in words, and financial support - which is very difficult to find - is necessary for our work as well. It also happens often that adults don`t really want to listen to school students talking about their problems, they seem to be not that trustworthy. Laws regulating the representation of school students All school students have the right to register their organisation according to the law. |