On 1 September, by signing an agreement on education, parliamentary parties pledged to increase public funding for education and science steadily from 2022 onwards.
The parties have predicted that by the end of 2030, the state budget allocations for R&D activities in higher education and the government sector will reach at least 1%. GDP, and by the end of 2024 – at least 0.75%. GDP.
It is tentatively estimated that an additional € 66.2 million will be needed in the budget next year to fund R&D to meet this target. euros.
According to the calculations of the Rectors’ Conference, in order to implement the agreement, an additional 67.7 million LTL should be spent on R&D activities in next year’s budget. EUR 24.1 million is earmarked for this purpose. euros.
Presidency: The agreement must be implemented
According to the President, the planned R&D funding is insufficient.
“According to the President, the current draft budget requires more funds to implement the 0.75% target for 2024. from GDP.
To be precise, about 23 million R&D are planned for today. euros. That balance or shortfall, as much as it would take for growth to be steady each year, is still about $ 44 million. “White Adviser to the Head of State spoke at a press conference at the presidency on Wednesday.”
Photo by Luke April / 15 minutes / Paulius Baltokas
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The presidency, he said, has recently received more than 10 appeals from stakeholders regarding the implementation of the education agreement.
“The position of the President is that it must be carried out in full,” P. Baltok emphasized.
– Both the part that says that we need to support the appropriate decisions needed to ensure sustainable, even funding and the part that says that from 2022 onwards, with a steady increase in public budget appropriations, investment, R&D activities until 2024, 0.75 percent from GDP. To date, this figure is only 0.3%. “
The head of the country’s adviser noted that the increase in funding in the field of education is planned for next year, but this is not enough:
We cannot fail to learn from the experience when, at the end of European funding, we run out of sustainable budgetary resources to carry out certain activities.
“It is impossible not to see an increase in funding for education next year – probably a record increase. It is impossible not to see an increase in European funding for R&D, but we cannot fail to learn from the experience when, at the end of European funding, we lack sustainable budgetary resources to carry out certain activities. ”
Comments from the presidency: