Currently the poor physical state of many youngsters in Latvia makes one yell in anger. To resolve this problem, it is necessary to involve the Ministry of Education and Science, admits Latvia’s Minister of the Interior Māris Kučinskis.
The minister agreed the increase of the wage fund for services of the interior affairs sector by 10% is no panacea. It will, however, help bring some stability in the coming years.
At the same time, he said, there should be other bonuses.
Reminding of the plans of the Ministry of Defence to cooperate with Altum to provide housing guarantees for service men, Kučinskis said he, too, would like to cooperate with Altum. However, because the pay gap is rather large at the moment, he predicts talks will be rather difficult.
«Wages will prove a battle,» stressed the minister.
The other battle, according to Kučinskis, is getting the Ministry of Education and Science involved in improving youths’ physical fitness.
«Border guards and police officers have specific requirements for physical fitness, and there are stories about
people getting sick after the first kilometre in a 3 km run, unable to continue.
This is our shared problem and a result of sports lessons in schools having become basically entertainment and fun hours. We can always say grass was greener in the past, but there were requirements and sports lessons were intended to help children develop physically. This is not just a topic for discussions, but for yelling as well, because it is one more threat,» said the minister.
This is especially true for border guards, as they currently experience difficulties with finding recruits to train at the State Border Guard College.
The minister reminded that the college is located in Rezekne, and Latgale has much higher unemployment than Riga. This is why the problem with physical fitness is all the more apparent.
Also read: Latvian State Police reports shortage of approximately 1 700 workers