School closures bring 41 new pupils to Zasa secondary school

Six schools offering basic education were closed in Jēkabpils Municipality in August, sending some pupils to schools in other municipalities and bringing several dozen others to Zasa secondary school, LSM reported, citing Vidusdaugavas Televīzija.

Forty one children from Dignāja and Rubene basic schools are starting the new school year at Zasa secondary school. The school has 193 pupils this year, significantly more than the two closed schools had combined.

Some of the new pupils and their parents are concerned about joining a new school community. Parents also worry that longer journeys and waits for buses will extend the children’s school days.

“The biggest concern is that the class will be large, with 24 children, because there will be less attention,” said Līga Marcinkeviča, the mother of a Zasa secondary school pupil who previously attended Rubene basic school.

The school said children could spend time in clubs and interest education activities while waiting for buses. However, meals are provided only at lunchtime.

“We do not have the option of providing an afternoon snack, so after lunch I asked that we give them some bread in a box. It is not a solution, of course, but it is the only thing I can offer because the municipality does not provide funding for afternoon snacks,” said acting principal Gunita Godļevska Caica.

Twenty five children from the closed Dignāja and Rubene basic schools are not continuing their education in Jēkabpils Municipality. Some families have chosen schools in a neighbouring municipality, even when Zasa secondary school was closer.