More than eight million euros has been allocated to ensure the availability of educational materials in schools, with the funding redirected from other projects, including the 21.2 million euros education quality monitoring system, Education and Science Minister Dace Melbārde (New Unity) revealed in an interview on Latvijas TV’s “Rīta panorāma”.
The minister explained that this reallocation was a proposal from the Latvian Education and Science Workers’ Trade Union (LIZDA), which she considers reasonable and necessary.
Melbārde pledged to ensure that schools have the required materials for each subject and promised to closely monitor whether the additional eight million euros will be sufficient.
She also committed to visiting a different school every Friday to assess key educational needs firsthand.
Additionally, she stated that she is continuing to review ongoing education sector reforms, with a meeting with LIZDA being part of this process.
“We know that teachers are exhausted from reforms, confused, and still struggling with the consequences of previous changes,” Melbārde said. She emphasized that she wants to identify the shortcomings that need to be addressed in relation to the “School 2030” reform.
Last autumn, the government approved 21.2 million euros in funding to develop an education quality monitoring system until 2029.
While LIZDA acknowledges the need for education quality monitoring, the union has expressed concerns about some of the ministry’s planned activities and the scale of funding.
The union has maintained that part of this funding should instead be used to address existing issues, including learning materials and support staff in schools.