Desiring to enable all people of the Baltic States to
benefit fully from the study opportunities in any of the
States,
Considering that the Convention on the Recognition of
Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European
Region adopted in Lisbon on 11 April 1997, (hereinafter
"the Lisbon Convention"), should be fully implemented
in order to strengthen the Baltic common educational space and
to stimulate the academic recognition as well as the mobility
of students and teaching staff among the Republic of Latvia,
Republic of Estonia and Republic of Lithuania,
Considering that a follow-up to the ratification of the
Lisbon Convention in the Baltic States in a form of Agreement
regulating the recognition of the concrete educational
qualifications among the Baltic States is desirable,
the Government of the Republic of Latvia, the
Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania hereinafter referred to as
"Parties" agree upon the following:
Article 1. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Agreement, the following terms
shall have the following meaning:
Assessment (of individual qualifications) -
the written appraisal or
evaluation of an individual's foreign qualifications by a
competent authority.
Access (to higher education) - the right of qualified applicants to
apply and to be considered for admission to higher
education.
Admission (to higher education Institutions and
programmes) - the act of, or system for, allowing qualified
applicants to pursue studies in higher education at a given
institution and/or a given programme.
Higher education - all types of courses of study, or sets of
courses of study, training or training for research at the post
secondary level which are recognised by the relevant
authorities of a Party as belonging to its higher education
system.
Higher education institution - an establishment providing higher
education and recognised by the competent authority of a
Party.
Higher education programme - a course of study recognised by the
competent authority of a Party as belonging to its system of
higher education, and the completion of which provides the
student with a higher education qualification.
Period of study - any component of a higher education programme
which has been evaluated and documented and, while not a
complete programme of study in itself, represents a significant
acquisition of knowledge or skill.
Qualification
A. Higher education qualification - any degree, diploma or other
certificate issued by a competent authority attesting the
successful completion of a higher education
programme.
B. Qualification giving access to higher
education - any
diploma or other certificate issued by a competent authority
attesting the successful completion of an education programme
and giving the holder of the qualification the right to be
considered for admission to higher education (cf. the
definition of access).
Recognition - a formal acknowledgement by a competent authority of
the value of a foreign educational qualification with a view to
access to educational and/or employment activities.
Article 2. BASIC PRINCIPLES
1) The Baltic States - the Republic of Latvia, the
Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter,
States) - agree to recognise each other's higher education
qualifications and qualifications giving access to higher
education unless there is an evidence of substantial
differences.
2) This Agreement shall deal with the qualifications
awarded after completion of study programmes, which are
recognised in the home country.
3) A higher education qualification or a qualification
providing access to higher education shall give its holder the
same rights in the other Parties as it gives in the State in
which it has been awarded.
Article 3. SECONDARY EDUCATION
QUALIFICATIONS GIVING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE BALTIC
COMMON EDUCATIONAL SPACE
The Parties shall recognise the following
qualifications giving access to higher education studies in the
Baltic States:
Qualifications issued in the Republic
of Latvia:
1) Atestāts par vispārējo vidējo izglītību
(certificate of General secondary education).
2) Diploms par vidējo speciālo izglītību
(diploma of Secondary specialised education).
3) Diploms par arodizglītību (Diploma of
vocational education), if the duration of programme is 4
years.
4) Diploms par vidējo profesionālo izglītību
(diploma of secondary professional education) - starting from
year 2000.
Qualifications issued in the Republic
of Estonia:
1) Gūmnaasiumi lõputunnistus (Secondary school
leaving certificate).
2) Lõputunnistus kutse- ja keskhariduse omandamise
kohta (Upper-secondary vocational school leaving
certificate).
3) Lõputunnistus keskerihariduse omandamise
kohta (Post-secondary professional school leaving
certificate).
The qualifications 1 - 3 are only valid together with
Riigieksamitunnistus (State Examination Certificate) as the
access qualifications.
Qualifications issued in the Republic
of Lithuania:
1) Brandos atestatas (maturity
certificate).
Article 4. SPECIFIC ADMISSION
REQUIREMENTS AND ADMISSION TO HIGHER EDUCATION
STUDIES
The admission to the higher education programme in
question may require fulfilment of specific
requirements:
- specific subjects to be successfully completed by the
applicant at the secondary education level,
- specific previous training or ability.
If fulfilment of such specific requirements is a
precondition for admission of applicants from their own
country, the same requirements may be applied for the
applicants from the other States.
Article 5. RECOGNITION OF THE FIRST
ACADEMIC DEGREES FOR FURTHER STUDIES
The Latvian Bakalaura grāds, the Estonian
Bakalaureusekraad and the Lithuanian Bakalauro
laipsnis give equal access to further studies towards
Maģistra grāds in Latvia, Magistrikraad in
Estonia and Magistro laipsnis in Lithuania.
The same conditions apply for access to professional
study programmes that have the first academic degrees as the
entrance requirement.
In the case if the first degree in one of the States is
awarded after a three-year study programme and the studies
towards this degree do not include final thesis, the higher
education institutions in the other States may impose
additional requirements before admission of the holder to
further studies.
Article 6. RECOGNITION FOR ADMISSION
TO DOCTORAL STUDIES
The Latvian Maģistra grāds, the Estonian
Magistrikraad and the Lithuanian Magistro
laipsnis or equivalent higher education qualifications
which provide access to doctoral studies in the State where
they were awarded, give equal access to further studies towards
Doktora grāds in Latvia, Doktorikraad in Estonia
and Daktaro laipsnis in Lithuania.
Article 7. RECOGNITION OF DOCTORAL
DEGREES
Each State shall recognise the doctoral degrees awarded
in other States. Parties will take measures in order to give
the holders of doctoral degrees from other States the same
rights to pursue academic and research activities they have in
the country in which the doctoral degree was
awarded.
Article 8. ACADEMIC RECOGNITION OF
QUALIFICATIONS AWARDED AFTER COMPLETION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL
STUDIES
Each State shall recognise higher education
qualifications awarded in the other States after completion of
higher professional studies.
A qualification awarded after higher professional
studies shall provide access to further studies towards
Maģistra grāds in Latvia, Magistrikraad in
Estonia and Magistro laipsnis in Lithuania, if it
provides such access in the State in which the qualification
has been awarded.
If a qualification awarded after higher professional
studies does not provide access to further studies towards
Maģistra grāds, Magistrikraad or Magistro
laipsnis in the State in which it was awarded, the Parties
should look for possibilities of recognising it as periods of
study in applicants further academic studies.
Article 9. RECOGNITION OF PERIODS OF
STUDY
Each State shall recognise the periods of study
completed within the framework of a higher education programme
in the other States.
In cases when periods of study have been completed
according to previous Agreements among higher education
institutions, a full credit transfer shall be
granted.
In all other cases the parties should look towards
transfer of maximum credits relevant to the
programme.
Article 10. CONSEQUENCES OF THIS
AGREEMENT REGARDING PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
The academic recognition of higher education
qualifications awarded in other States should facilitate
recognition of these qualifications also for professional
purposes.
In these cases when the professional activity is
regulated by national or international legislation binding to a
State, the appropriate legislation applies to the professional
recognition.
Article 11. RECOGNITION OF SUCH
QUALIFICATIONS WHICH ARE NOT AWARDED ANY MORE
Each State shall recognise higher education
qualifications and qualifications giving access to higher
education awarded in the other States during the transition
period after re-gaining independence, and which are not awarded
any longer, as following:
- qualifications which gave access to higher education
and correspond to the present general access requirements in
one State shall be given access in the other States;
- higher education qualifications which correspond to
the certain qualification in the present higher educational
system in one Party shall be recognised in other
Parties.
Article 12. THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL
ACADEMIC RECOGNITION INFORMATION CENTRES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF
THIS AGREEMENT
The National Academic Recognition Information Centres
(ENIC/NARIC centres) shall fulfil the following functions
towards implementation of this Agreement:
- provide the higher education institutions and/or
employers of the appropriate State with the relevant
information regarding educational systems, and qualifications
awarded in other States;
- provide the ENIC/NARIC centres of other Parties with
information on the educational system, and qualifications
awarded in the appropriate State;
- evaluate the qualifications awarded in other
parties;
- provide and regularly renew information about State
recognised higher education institutions and programmes in
their State
Article 13. OVERSIGHT OF THE AGREEMENT
IMPLEMENTATION
The oversight of the implementation of this Agreement
shall be carried out by the Baltic Higher Education
Co-ordination Committee (BHECC). Each year no less than one of
the BHECC meetings shall be devoted to questions related to
implementation of this Agreement. In particular BHECC shall
facilitate implementation of decisions/recommendations of the
intergovernmental committee of the Lisbon Convention in the
Baltic area and suggest appropriate changes of this Agreement
if necessary.
Article 14. ENTERING INTO
FORCE
The present Agreement shall enter into force on the
first day of the third month, following the date when the
Contracting Parties have notified each other through diplomatic
channels of the fulfilment their internal legal procedures for
its entry into force.
Article 15. REMAINING IN
FORCE
The present Agreement shall stay in effect for a
non-fixed period. This Agreement can be denounced in writing
through diplomatic channels by either Party and the Agreement
will be no longer in force after the notification after one
year.
The Agreement is done in three original copies at
Tallinn on the 18th day of February, 2000 in the Latvian,
Estonian, Lithuanian, and English languages, all texts are
equally authentic. In case of divergency in interpretation, the
English text shall prevail.
| For the Government |
For the Government |
For the Government |
| of the Republic of
Latvia |
of the Republic of
Estonia |
of the Republic of Lithuania |
