On 24 April 2018 President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis met with Minister of Education and Science Kārlis Šadurskis. The officials discussed current issues in the education sector, with particular attention paid to the progress made regarding arrangements in the school network, introducing competence-based educational content, reforms in higher education, as well as the introduction of national defence training.
Speaking about the reorganisation of the school network, the President of Latvia acknowledged that the process involves both the government and municipalities, but the decision-making has not been successful enough so far. “When deciding to streamline the school network, we do not deal with jobs, buildings or the benefits of a particular municipality. We decide on the future opportunities for our children and for Latvia.” Raimonds Vējonis also stressed that the reorganisation of the school network was aimed at achieving the best possible quality of education regarding curriculum and material and technical procurement by combining resources in one place.
The President of Latvia and the Minister of Education and Science discussed opportunities for strengthening the sense of belonging to Latvia among students in high school. “While celebrating the centenary of our country this year, we are aware of the importance of the ability and desire of the people to defend their country in preserving the independence of the country. To improve civic consciousness and patriotism of the students, the government must agree on the introduction of national defence training in high school classes already this year,” called the President of Latvia.
While discussing the current state of affairs in higher education in the framework of the reforms of the general education system, the President of Latvia emphasised that his meeting with the rectors of the higher educational establishments confirmed the conclusion of the need for institutional changes in higher education. “By concentrating the resources at our disposal instead of fragmenting and introducing higher quality standards in higher education, we will be able to create a high-quality, globally more competitive supply of higher education for both our local students and foreign students,” stated Raimonds Vējonis.
During the meeting with the Minister of Education, the President of Latvia admitted that significant work was still ahead regarding the reorganisation of the school network and the implementation of reforms in higher education throughout Latvia. Although the government has initiated the changes efficiently, most probably they shall be continued during the next government as well.