President of Latvia Egils Levits met today at Riga Castle with Anita Muižniece, Minister of Education and Science, to discuss the newly appointed minister’s plans and current events in her domain.
The main topic of conversation during the meeting was the strategic role of science in facilitating a qualitatively new leap in the sustainability of the state. Minister Muižniece described to President Levits her work plans. During the meeting, the implementation of the reform of higher education was also discussed, as the Ministry of Education and Science stands before the extensive task of elaborating a Cabinet Regulation on this matter by 31 August of this year. The President of Latvia highlighted that the public is expecting the Ministry of Education and Science to take important strategic decisions regarding the implementation of this reform, the salary system for teachers and staff in higher education, as well as physical attendance at classes starting from September.
The President of Latvia stressed the need to create a forward-looking science policy and to place more emphasis on funding for science and scientific technology innovations in the course of budget negotiations. President Levits has repeatedly brought this matter to the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Saeima holding it to be one of the main prerequisites for sustainable development of the state.