According to CT, after the amendments to the law came into effect on January 1 of this year, the legal regulation determining the procedure for student admission has fundamentally changed – it no longer contains the provisions contested by the group of parliamentarians, that the admission is performed centrally by an institution authorized by the minister.
The court stated that the contested regulation has been removed from the legal system and there are no longer any grounds for changing it, as “such an intervention would be pointless”.
KT assessed the conformity of the Law on Science and Studies with the Constitution regarding the autonomy of higher education institutions at the request of a group of Seimas members.
The provision that admission to short-term, first-cycle, integrated and professional studies is carried out centrally by an institution authorized by the Minister of Education, Science and Sports has been evaluated.
On the initiative of Social Democrats Julius Sabatauskas, Tomas Bičiūnas and Liudas Jonaitis, a group of parliamentarians applied to the Constitutional Court last June regarding the provisions of the Law on Science and Studies, which will enter into force in 2024.
The parliamentarians took the position that the amendments adopted by the Seimas undermine the constitutional right of higher education institutions to act autonomously – to determine the procedure for the admission of students in accordance with their statutes.
KT also noted on Thursday that granting autonomy to higher schools does not release the state from the constitutional obligation to ensure the effectiveness of the higher education system.
Therefore, the autonomy of higher education institutions does not mean that their activities cannot be regulated by the state. On the contrary, because it is related to the use of state budget funds, this activity must be regulated and supervised,” the court said.
Tags: Supreme Court terminated case centralized admission students wording law changed
