On Thursday, 29 September, Latvia’s Saeima passed in the final reading amendments that state all schools and kindergartens in the country are to transition to education only in official language within three years. Amendments were added to the Education Law and General Education Law.
According to suggested amendments, from 1 September 2023 onward, general education programmes are to be taught in Latvian language in 1st, 4th and 7th grade. From 1 September 2024 onward education programmes are to be taught in Latvian language in 2nd, 5th and 8th grade. From 1 September 2025 onward 3rd, 6th and 9th grade are to transition to education only in Latvian language.
From 1 September 2023 onward all kindergartens in the country are to switch to education in only official language as well.
Transition will be carried out gradually in order to prepare the necessary content and introduce it smoothly in Latvian education institutions, as mentioned in the annotation to amendments.
Authors of amendments from the Ministry of Education and Science say that the current education programme employed by national minority schools has failed to provide quality teaching of Latvian language in all education stages.
Insufficient official language skills can limit social integration and impact career creation, representatives of the ministry say.
In order to ensure compliance with the Constitution and ensure preservation of languages, culture and history of national minorities living in Latvia, the options will be provided to study these subjects as part of hobby education programmes. Financing for these programmes will be provided by the state and municipalities.
The Cabinet of Ministers is thereby asked to prepare a draft for language, culture and history education programmes and guidelines.
Additionally, the government will improve regulations regarding the required level of official language among principals and teachers.
Authors of amendments estimate that transition to education in Latvian language only will affect 17% of teachers and 24% of students of national minority kindergartens.
The law also states that children attending pre-school education and primary education have the right to receive personal support in learning official language.