Key Benefits:
Government of the Republic of Lithuania
RESOLUTION No 874
of 19 August 2009
AMENDING RESOLUTION NO 540 of the government of the Republic of Lithuania of 21 July 1993 on the approval of the regulations of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation
Vilnius
Pursuant to Article 14 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Science and Studies (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 54-2140, 2009), the Government of the Republic of Lithuania has resolved:
1. The name of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation shall be changed to "the State Studies Foundation".
2. The Regulations of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, approved by Resolution No 540 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 21 July 1993 on the Approval of the Regulations of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 34-1098, 1993; No 34-1098, 2005; No 127-4833, 2006), shall be amended and a new version of the Regulations shall apply (as appended).
3. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall approve a new membership of the Board of the State Studies Foundation, but the Board of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, formed by Resolution No 938 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 25 September 2006 on the Approval of the Board of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation shall continue to operate no longer than until 1 February 2010 (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 104-3973, 2006).
4. This Resolution shall come into force on 1 January 2010.
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius
Minister of Education and Science Gintaras Steponavičius
APPROVED BY:
Resolution No 540 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 21 July 1993 (as amended by Resolution No 874 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 19 August 2009)
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The State Studies Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "the Foundation") is a budgetary institution financed from the State Budget of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as "the State Budget").
2. The founder of the Foundation is the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The Foundation is an institution under the Ministry of Education and Science.
3. The Foundation is a public legal person, having a seal with the state emblem of the Republic of Lithuania, its own name as well as bank accounts. The address of the head office of the Foundation: A.Goštauto g. 12, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania.
4. The Foundation shall act in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, laws of the Republic of Lithuania, international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania, resolutions of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, decrees of the President of the Republic, resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, ordinances of the Prime Minister, orders of the Minister of Education and Science, other legal acts and these Regulations.
ii.OBJECTIVE, TASKS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE FOUNDATION
5. The objective of the activities of the Foundation shall be to administer State loans, State-supported loans, grants for students of the third level of studies, as well as other financial assistance for students.
6. The tasks of the activities of the Foundation shall be to implement the policy of science and studies and to ensure accessibility of higher education by administering financial assistance to students.
7. The Foundation, in implementing the tasks assigned to it, shall carry out the following functions:
7.2. administer grants to students of the third level of studies in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Board of the Foundation;
7.3. administer social grants to students of schools of higher education studying at the first, second or continuous study levels;
7.4. administer the repayment of all or part of the State funds allocated to cover the cost of studies of State-funded students to the State Budget when, in the cases and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, State-funded students who are expelled from a school of higher education or terminate their studies must return the said funds to the State Budget;
7.5. shall administer compensation of a part of the cost of studies paid over a respective period of studies (which may not exceed the normative cost of studies), in accordance with the procedure and amount set by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, for a part of non-funded students of the first-level or continuous studies who have the best performance record after the first two years (in the event of extended studies – after completing a half of the study programme) and after the remaining years of studies;
8. The Foundation's area of activities shall be the administration of financial assistance to students. The types of the Foundation's activities shall include administration of State loans and State-supported loans; administration of the provision of grants for students in the third level of studies; administration of repayment of all or part of the State funds allocated to cover the cost of studies of State-funded students to the State Budget when, in the cases and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, State-funded students who are expelled from a school of higher education or terminate their studies must return the said funds to the State Budget; administration of compensation of a part of the cost of studies paid over a respective period of studies (which may not exceed the normative cost of studies), in accordance with the procedure and amount set by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, for some of non-funded students in the first-level or continuous studies who have the best performance record after the first two years (in the event of extended studies – after completing a half of the study programme) and after the remaining years of studies.
III.RIGHTS OF THE FOUNDATION
9. In carrying out the tasks assigned to it, the Foundation, within its competence, shall have the right:
9.1. to receive information and documents from public and local authorities and bodies, public institutions, non-governmental organizations, other enterprises, bodies, organizations as well as persons; in accordance with the procedure set by the legislation, to receive from State registers and use data necessary for the implementation of its tasks and performance of its functions;
9.2. to seek assistance of the representatives and specialists of other public and local authorities and bodies as well as international organisations with the agreement of their managers in analyzing the issues being addressed;
9.4. in accordance with the prescribed procedure, to submit to the Ministry of Education and Science proposals regarding the administration of financial assistance to students;
IV. MANAGEMENT AND WORK ORGANIZATION OF THE FOUNDATION
10. The Foundations' sole governing body shall by the Director of the Foundation, who shall be appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Education and Science in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Service (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 66-2130, 1999; No 45-1708, 2002). The Director of the Foundation shall be directly subordinate and accountable to the Minister of Education and Science.
11. The Director of the Foundation:
11.1. shall act on behalf of the Foundation and assume the responsibility for the implementation of the tasks and performance of the functions entrusted to the Foundation;
11.2. shall make sure that the Foundation acts in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, laws of the Republic of Lithuania, international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania, decrees of the President of the Republic, resolutions of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, orders of the Minister of Education and Science, and other legal acts;
11.3. shall organize and coordinate the activities of the Foundation and adopt decisions on all issues pertaining to the activities of the Foundation, except the ones that fall within the competence of the Board of the Foundation;
11.4. as the manager of appropriations, shall be responsible for the use of the funds controlled by the Foundation, organize the development and implementation of State Budget-funded programmes, draft and approve the Foundation's programmes and their cost estimates, control and fulfil the Foundation's obligations, and ensure the lawfulness, cost-effectiveness, efficiency and productiveness of the use of State Budget appropriations and other funds;
11.5. shall organize the audit of the financial performance of the Foundation; in accordance with the procedure and time limits prescribed by the legislation, submit sets of financial and budget implementation statements, and ensure the correctness and timely delivery of sets of financial and budget implementation reports as well as statistical reports;
11.6. in line with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Service and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, shall appoint and dismiss from office the Deputy Director and other public servants of the Foundation, conclude employment contracts with the staff of the Foundation, set their salaries, impose professional or disciplinary sanctions and apply incentives;
11.7. shall organize the improvement of the qualification of public servants of the Foundation according to special programmes serving this purpose;
11.9. in coordination with the Board of the Foundation, shall approve the Regulations of Granting Loans to Students;
11.10. shall adopt decisions on redistribution of unused State Budget funds as well as funds from repaid loans, interest and delinquency charges;
12. If the Director of the Foundation is temporarily unable to perform his functions, they shall be performed by the Deputy Director.
13. The collegiate body of management of the Foundation shall be the Board of the Foundation. The Board of the Foundation shall consist of 11 members: the Director and the Deputy Director of the Foundation, at least two representatives nominated by the Ministry of Finance, at least two representatives nominated by the Ministry of Education and Science, at least two representatives nominated by institutions of science and studies, at least one representative of students, and representatives of other institutions and organizations.
Members of the Board of the Foundation, except for the Director and the Deputy Director, shall not be the public servants or employed staff of the Foundation.
14. The Board of the Foundation and its Chairperson shall be approved for a term of four years by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania acting on a proposal from the Ministry of Education and Science. The Board Chairperson shall preside over the Board of the Foundation and organize its work. If the Board Chairperson is unable to carry out his functions, they shall be performed by the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Foundation. The Vice Chairperson of the Board of the Foundation shall be elected by secret vote by the members of the Board of the Foundation at the first sitting of the approved Board of the Foundation. In the absence of the Chairperson, he shall be substituted by the Vice Chairperson of the Board of the Foundation.
15. The Board of the Foundation:
15.1. shall distribute the State Budget funds allocated to the Foundation for the purpose of granting State loans, covering of the interest on loans, and fulfilment of State obligations under a State guarantee as well as other commitments;
15.2. shall adopt decisions on the use of the Foundation's funds consisting of repaid loans, interest and delinquency charges as well as on the use of other non-budgetary funds;
16. The Board of the Foundation shall adopt decisions at the meetings of the Board of the Foundation. The meetings of the Board of the Foundation shall be convened on a quarterly basis. An extraordinary meeting of the Board may be convened at the request of at least 1/3 of the members of the Board of the Foundation or the Chairperson of the Board of the Foundation or the Director of the Foundation.
17. The meeting of the Board of the Foundation shall be deemed legitimate if at least half of the members of the Board of the Foundation are present. The decisions of the Board of the Foundation shall be passed by more than a half of the votes of all the members of the Board of the Foundation present at the meeting.
18. If a question must be discussed and decided upon as an urgent matter, the members of the Board of the Foundation may cast their votes by electronic means. A vote shall be deemed legitimate if at least a half of the members of the Board of the Foundation vote electronically, while a decision shall be deemed adopted if more than a half of the members of the Board of the Foundation voting electronically cast their votes in favour of the decision. The material presented for the electronic vote and the results of the vote shall be attached to the minutes of the meeting of the Foundation of the Board.
19. All meetings of the Board of the Foundation shall be recorded in the minutes. The decisions of the Board of the Foundation shall be signed by the Chairperson of the Board of the Foundation and the secretary of the meeting. One of the members of the Board of the Foundation shall be elected secretary of the meeting at the start of every meeting by a simple majority of votes.
20. The Director of the Foundation shall bear responsibility for the implementation of the decisions of the Board of the Foundation.
V. SOURCES and USE OF FUNDS AND FINANCIAL ACTIVITY CONTROLS
22. The funds of the Foundation shall consist of:
22.3. Funds accumulated from repaid interest on loans and delinquency charges as well as other funds repaid or recovered in the course of carrying out the functions assigned to the Foundation;
23. Programme-based distribution of the State Budget appropriations received by the Foundation shall be approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
24. The funds intended for granting loans, payment of the interest on State-supported loans and for meeting State obligations under a guarantee or other obligations shall be used in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
25. Funds shall be used to award grants to students pursuing third-level studies in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Board of the Foundation.
26. Funds shall be used to award social grants to students pursuing first or second-level studies or continuous studies in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
27. Funds shall be used to compensate the cost of studies (part of the cost that shall not exceed the normative price of studies), as indicated in paragraph 7.5 of these Regulations, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
28. Funds recovered when performing the function referred to in paragraph 7.4 of these Regulations shall be returned to the State Budget following the procedure laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
29. The Foundation shall have a separate account for the funds accumulated from repaid loans, interest and delinquency charges as well as non-budgetary funds allocated for the granting of loans, payment of the interest on State-supported loans and fulfilment of State obligations under a guarantee as well as other obligations. After the end of the year, the balance on this account shall not be returned to the State Budget.
30. Control of financial activities of the Foundation shall be performed by the National Audit Office and other institutions in line with the procedure laid down by legal acts.
VI. RECRUITMENT and REMUNERATION OF PUBLIC SERVANTS AND EMPLOYEES
32. The personnel of the Foundation shall consist of the public servants and employed staff of the Foundation.
33. The status of the public servants of the Foundation, terms of remuneration and social guarantees shall be established by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Service. The status, terms of remuneration and social guarantees of employed staff shall be established by the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybės žinios(Official Gazette) No 64-2569, 2002) and other legal acts.
VII. FINAL PROVISIONS
34. The Regulations of the Foundation shall be amended by a decision of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
35. The Foundation may be wound up, reorganised or restructured by a decision of the founder in line with the procedure laid down by the legislation.
