Latvia extends teacher salary funding to smaller high schools

Latvia’s government has decided to provide proportional state funding for teacher salaries this year to high schools with at least 15 students in their secondary school classes, LSM reported on Tuesday.

The decision is part of amendments to regulations governing teacher pay and the financing of educational institutions. Previously, proportional state funding in the secondary school stage required at least 30 students.

The Education and Science Ministry said the amendments refine the implementation of the Programme at School teacher salary funding model. The ministry had sought to ease the requirements for one year because many municipalities had not yet completed decisions on reorganising their school networks.

The changes allow for fluctuations in student numbers and give municipalities greater flexibility during the transition period. Education Minister Ilze Indriksone of the National Alliance said the aim was to ensure access to education for children in more remote and border areas.

The amendments also refine the student-number criteria used to calculate state funding and clarify the conditions for allocating and using funds, giving schools greater scope to plan spending according to their actual needs.

A transitional arrangement will apply to schools providing access to education in remote areas and border regions, schools where at least 50 percent of students follow special education programmes, the only secondary school in a municipality and schools covered by exception agreements.

In these schools, state funding for grades one to six will allow student-number fluctuations of up to 25 percent, while the limit for grades seven to nine will be 10 percent. In the secondary school stage, the transitional arrangement will remain in force until September 1, 2027, requiring at least 15 students in a class group to receive proportional funding.