On August 30, President of Latvia Egils Levits met with the Board of the Latvian Association of Educational Leaders in the Riga Castle to discuss current issues regarding the reform of the school network, the importance of Latvian as the only official language, and the popularisation of the teaching profession.
The Latvian Association of Educational Leaders expressed support for the ongoing education reform, but it called for a more rigorous reflection on its implementation mechanism so that educators would be prepared to work with pupils well after the new system would be introduced in September 2020. The need to make the reform more flexible, taking into account the specificities of the regions, was also emphasised.
The meeting also highlighted a major challenge that the Latvian education system could face in the future, namely, the lack of teachers. The teaching profession is aging and losing popularity over the years, leading to fewer young teachers entering the system who are more adaptable to current teaching methods and who understand the wishes and needs of modern children and young people. Both educational leaders and President of Latvia Egils Levits are looking forward to the new, motivating teacher-training program, which is set to start in a year’s time.
In order to strengthen the position of the Latvian language as the only official language, the Latvian Association of Education Leaders points out that there is an urgent need to find a solution to the shortage of Latvian language teachers not only in minority schools but in all Latvian educational institutions.
President Egils Levits expressed support for the work of the Latvian Association of Educational Leaders, urging them not to stop on the achievements and continue to explain the importance of the teaching profession, parental responsibility and obligations, the role of inclusive education and competency-based education to the public.
