The exam standard has been sent to British universities, but there are no guarantees they will immediately recognise the secondary education diplomas issued in Latvia, warns the Ministry of Education and Science.
The ministry referenced the notification from the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills, which stated that the country provide universities autonomy when it comes to admission requirements.
LTV news programme Panorāma previously reported that six years ago a conclusion was voiced that Latvian graduates were discriminated against on their path to receive prestigious education.
A Latvian diploma is still valid to receive admission to the University of Cambridge, whereas University of Oxford will hand a rejection to a Latvian secondary education diploma.
The ministry explains that this situation appeared because for many years in Latvia’s secondary education the number of hours for certain lessons was not enough to meet the required level listed in British education standards. Due to the large number of lessons the total load for each subject was up to 210 hours.
In Britain it is required to spend more than 300 hours on each subject.
This is why increasing the number of hours for each subject was one of the goals in improving content three years ago. The number of hours has increased significantly since then – on an optimal level mathematics has up to 420 hours reserved. According to the ministry, picking in-depth level has put Latvia to the so-called A-level exam employed by Britain.
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