Only 37% of students who failed exams completed basic school on a second attempt

Only 170 of the 459 students who failed ninth-grade centralised exams in 2025 completed basic school after repeating their studies, LSM reported. The figure represents 37%, or less than half of those affected.

The number of students who failed the exams rose to 818 this spring, nearly double last year’s figure. Although basic education is compulsory in Latvia, some students remain without it.

The Ministry of Education and Science has proposed issuing basic education certificates to students whose final grades are passing, regardless of their centralised exam results.

Unprecedented problem at Gardenes Basic School

At Gardenes Basic School in Dobele Municipality, 15 ninth-graders took the mathematics centralised exam in 2025. Five failed it, while two other students failed the English exam.

After another year of studies, all seven students repeated ninth grade either at Gardenes Basic School or elsewhere, and all seven completed it successfully, school principal Evita Piraga said.

Some students moved to another school in the municipality, some changed their form of education and one moved to another place of residence, Piraga said.

In Dobele Municipality, nine ninth-graders failed their exams in 2025. One obtained a certificate after appealing the exam results, while all the others retook the exams and passed. The municipality said it was the first time it had faced such a situation.

The head of the Dobele Municipality Education Administration, Aija Didrihsone, said students needed strong motivation and the courage to return to education. Some young people leave the country or move with their families and remain without basic education, she said.