Training
Lack of resources and low teacher salaries
keep the quality of teaching down. Moreover, it is often
worse in the countryside. All colleges must now hold at
least 60 percent of the lessons in Latvian, and the
Latvian language is a compulsory subject in all schools.
There are state as well as private schools.
Compulsory preschool was introduced in 2002 for all
5-6 year olds. The children start in the nine-year
compulsory compulsory school at the age of seven. Nine
out of ten pupils continue after compulsory school to
the three-year high school or to two to four years of
vocational education.
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Allcitypopulation: Offers a list of biggest cities in the state of
Latvia, including the capital city which hosts major colleges and
universities.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Latvia, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
From the 2020/2021 school year, it is proposed that
Latvian should be the only language used in schools for
all 16-18 year olds. Even at the high school, the plan
is that more and more of the teaching will be in
Latvian. However, the planned change has caused protests
among many Russian-speaking families. It is also
expected to be difficult to recruit enough teachers who
can teach in Latvian.
Among some 60 universities and colleges, the
University of Latvia and Riga's Technical University are
the largest. The Stockholm School of Economics has a
high reputation in Latvia.
The Latvian universities have had difficulty
competing at European level. Among other things, this
has been due to difficulties in recruiting younger
highly educated academics who are discouraged by low
salaries and high workloads. The higher education
institutions are also struggling with financial problems
due to a decrease in the number of students. This is
due, among other things, to low birth rates and
emigration (see Population and Languages) and due to the
fact that some of the students who leave high school
choose to continue their education in another EU
country. But it is also a consequence of the economic
crisis in the late 00s when many could not afford higher
studies. A few years into the 2010s, close to two-thirds
of the students financed their studies themselves, while
the rest got their studies funded by the state.
FACTS - EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary
school
96.3 percent (2017)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
11 (2016)
Reading and writing skills
99.9 percent (2011)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
14.1 percent (2015)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
14.1 percent (2015)
2020
June
The state of emergency is lifted
June 9
The government announces that the state of emergency introduced in March will
now be lifted. However, some restrictions still apply to prevent the spread of
infection, including rules for social distance of two meters between different
societies, which may consist of no more than two people. In public transport,
travelers must wear a face mask or other protection.
Travelers from low-risk countries do not quarantine
June 2
Latvia opens the borders to travelers from most EU countries and raises the
requirement that visitors must spend two weeks in quarantine. However,
quarantine rules still apply to travelers from countries where the spread of
infection is still a problem. So far, nearly 1100 Latvian people have been
infected with covid-19, while 24 people have died.
May
Baltic countries open borders to one another
15th of May
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania open their borders to travelers from the Baltic
countries. However, visitors from another country still have to spend two weeks
in quarantine before they can move freely in the countries. The number of cases
of covid-10 has fallen sharply in the three countries.
March
An emergency permit is introduced to stop coronavirus
the 13th of March
The government announces that an emergency permit will be introduced until
mid-April. All public gatherings with more than 200 participants are banned,
cultural and sports activities are not allowed at present and schools are
closed. The purpose of these measures is to combat the spread of covid-19
disease in the country.
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