Latvia’s Education Ministry plans to take over foreign student recruitment

Latvia’s Ministry of Education and Science plans to abolish the national Study in Latvia initiative next year and take over most of its functions, LSM reported on Thursday. The initiative has promoted study opportunities in Latvia abroad and coordinated the admission of foreign students to Latvian higher education institutions.

The Council of Rectors’ secretary general, Jānis Bernāts, said the initiative had contributed to the success of Latvia’s higher education sector in attracting international students. He described Study in Latvia as more than an organisational unit, pointing to its website, social media accounts, staff and diaspora contacts promoting Latvian universities abroad.

Bernāts said universities were not concerned about which institution would oversee the initiative, provided its work continued. He said it was important for the ministry to reach potential students in a modern and effective way.

The ministry has not coordinated the planned changes with the Council of Rectors. Bernāts said this was not necessary if Study in Latvia’s work continued under a different structure.

Deputy State Secretary Lana Francesca Dreimane linked the planned transfer to the reorganisation of the State Education Development Agency, where the initiative is currently based. She said the agency had taken on numerous new functions in primary and general education, while its responsibilities were now changing.

Dreimane said the ministry also recognised the opportunities and risks created by the rapid internationalisation of higher education and science. Latvia, she said, was no longer the same country it had been 10 years ago.