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Good practice Imported

Lithuania's National AI-in-Schools Guidelines, Backed by a €1.7m Teacher Licensing Programme

Lithuania · Vilnius · See the Lithuania profile · See the Vilnius profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 59% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Lithuania's Education Ministry approved national AI-use guidelines for schools after a government-commissioned survey found nearly 70% of teachers already using AI, backing them with €1.7m for 30,000+ software licences — while experts warn smaller-town schools risk being left beh

70 %
Teachers already using AI at work
1.7 € million
Funding for software licences
30,000+
Software licences distributed
13+
Stakeholder organisations involved in drafting
Lithuania's National AI-in-Schools Guidelines, Backed by a €1.7m Teacher Licensing Programme

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
Period
2025–ongoing (national guidelines approved 1 February 2026)
Keywords
AI policy, teacher training, K-12 education, digital licensing, data governance

Context

In February 2026, Lithuania's Ministry of Education, Science and Sport approved national AI-use guidelines for schools, 'School in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Use.' The guidelines follow a government-commissioned survey that found nearly 70% of Lithuanian teachers already use AI at work.

Objectives

The guidelines aim to help each school set its own rules for using AI in didactics and methods, on the principle that 'AI should be used when it provides real added value to education,' while keeping teachers in control of classroom decisions.

Activities

The programme funded about €1.7 million for more than 30,000 software licences for teachers and students, including Microsoft Copilot, with more than 13 stakeholder organisations involved in drafting the guidance.

Results

The pre-guideline survey found that about three-quarters of teacher AI users applied it to lesson preparation, curriculum development, or drafting documents. Equity concerns were flagged during rollout, with one administrator noting 'it's unrealistic to think that schools in smaller towns will receive licences anytime soon.'

Conclusions

A geography teacher cautioned that for children AI 'can be like a swamp — they can sink into it if they don't learn to critically judge,' underlining that the guidelines pair licence access with an emphasis on critical AI literacy and highlighting an urban-rural equity gap still to be resolved.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — €1.7 million funding more than 30,000 software licences (including Microsoft Copilot) for teachers and students.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Licensing programme running 2025-ongoing; national guidelines formally approved 1 February 2026.
Staffing & skills
Ministry of Education, Science and Sport policy team, 13+ stakeholder organisations (including teacher representatives and EdTech providers) co-drafting the guidelines

Conditions for success

  • Reliable school-level connectivity and devices to make use of licences
  • Teacher AI-literacy training alongside licence access
  • Equitable distribution of licences to schools in smaller towns, not just urban centres

Common failure modes

  • Urban-rural equity gap in licence distribution, as flagged by school administrators
  • Risk of student over-reliance on AI without developing critical judgement, per teacher warnings

Where it fits

Governance type
national ministry-led guidance with school-level autonomy
Scale
national (Lithuania)
Income level
high-income (EU member state)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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