ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS OF ARTISTS – AS ABSURD LOTTERY 0

2010-07-26

Asta Andrė

www.kamane.lt, 2010 07 26

Rector of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre E.Gabnys will offer that entrance examinations procedure would be evaluated by international organisations

The interim rector of Vilnius Academy of Arts A.Klimas regards anonymous evaluation of entrants sceptically

In brief: The rector of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre Eduardas Gabnys compared entrance examinations of artists with the competition of basketball players or heavyweights competing in a pool. The results of entrance examinations to higher art schools announced last Friday caused more concern than joy, similar to last year.

Vilnius Academy of Arts should not be sad: 306 places will be funded by the state. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre experienced a knockdown the second year in sequence: only 136 places will be funded by the state (26 places less than last year).

Only one fourth of students entered state-funded places this year (63 out of 256 music performers). In the opinion of LMTA heads, it is a catastrophe. Almost all these young people were preparing for studies at the conservatory in state-funded special music schools for more than then years.

The Ministry of Education and Science boasted in spring that it would improve the procedure of artists’ acceptance to higher art schools this year. It promised to correct the formula of evaluation of special skills and methodology of calculation of results. It planned to train evaluation committee members how the evaluation system should be applied and exams should be organised more fluently. Have the promises been fulfilled?

A conversation about these problems with the rector of LMTA Prof. E. Gabnys and interim rector of VAA Prof. Audrius Klimas is presented in the article.

In the opinion of E.Gabnys, nothing changed much as regards entrance examinations this year; he calls the examinations a roulette. The professor observes that it seems that the Ministry of Education and Science does not need musicians in Lithuania at all. He believes that nothing has been done to make exams to LMTA normal; therefore, the heads of the academy are going to turn to international organisations and ask them to evaluate the situation.

A.Klimas points out that Lithuanians should improve the entrance examinations procedure as the procedure of entering art studies is very different in European countries. He believes that works should not be valued anonymously as the academy does not know what it loses in this way.


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