proposals for other increases to the duration of schooling including a lengthened school year and an earlier start to compulsory schooling at age six have been discussed but neither has been implemented three options or their combination could be adopted to extend compulsory instruction time an increase in the number of instruction days per year extending the number of years of compulsory schooling or an increase in the number of instruction hours per day for instance school vacations could be shortened to gain more instruction days a year among top pisa performers japan korea and australia have fairly long school years of days or more this option could be especially attractive for lithuania for two reasons first lithuania s instruction year days in lower secondary is among the shortest in comparison to oecd member countries on average days with frequent interruption for breaks including almost threemonth long summer holidays