On 23 October, President Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the Minister of Education and Science Anda Čakša at the Riga Castle to discuss the current agenda of the Ministry of Education and Science on teacher remuneration, safety in schools, school network arrangement, transition to Latvian language education, etc.
The meeting discussed the situation with teachers' salaries at the beginning of this school year. ‘It is important for the ministry, the trade union and local governments to find a solution together in order to achieve the goal of a teachers' remuneration system that is understandable for all,’ said the President of Latvia.
During the conversation, President Rinkēvičs welcomed the fact that history will be reinstated as a separate subject in school curricula from the next school year.
Speaking about security in schools, the President of Latvia pointed out that it is necessary to establish a system to ensure security in educational institutions for both pupils and teachers, as there is currently no practical school security strategy that included both physical and psychological security aspects. E. Rinkēvičs also noted that cooperation between institutions should be strengthened and attitudes should be changed in all state and local government institutions involved.
President Rinkēvičs and Minister of Education and Science A. Čakša also discussed the progress made so far to facilitate the transition of schools to Latvian-language education.
Finally, the President of Latvia addressed the Minister the issues raised during the visits to the schools in relation to the Skola2030 reform and the insufficiency of teaching materials. President of Latvia expressed that it is important to continue the methodological and financial support started for schools both in the purchase of teaching materials and in the development of teachers' professional competence.
