Jēkabpils teachers warn of exam changes and staff shortages

Teachers in Jēkabils Municipality are entering the new school year with mixed feelings, concerned about proposed changes to student assessment and continuing staff shortages, especially in science subjects, LSM reported.

Jēkabpils Municipality’s annual education awards were presented shortly before the start of the new school year. While teachers said they were pleased with their achievements, they also expressed concern about changes expected in the near future.

Not all educators support the Education and Science Ministry’s proposal to abolish the minimum score requirement in centralised examinations for ninth-graders. Other proposed changes include introducing a natural sciences examination in Grade 9 while no longer taking examination results into account when issuing a certificate.

“It is something terrible. What kind of education quality can we talk about if we remove the threshold? It is already difficult to motivate students,” said Aija Vanagele, deputy head for education at Viesīte Secondary School.

Ligita Ašnevica, head of Jēkabpils Secondary School No. 3, said the threshold was one of the tools that encouraged students to complete the work required to pass the examination.

Teachers also believe that other changes are being introduced too quickly.

Recruiting teachers remains a problem, with many schools facing difficulties this summer. Dace Druveniece, head of Jēkabpils State Gymnasium, said the school had to replace its information technology and programming teacher.

“We managed to do it, but not without difficulties. Young people do not choose to study these specialities specifically as a teaching profession,” Druveniece said.

Ašnevica said the school’s science teachers in physics, chemistry and biology had very heavy workloads, meaning she needed to find additional staff. In previous years, she had relied on retired teachers and expected to need their help again this year.

Jēkabpils Municipality currently has about 10 teaching vacancies. Part-time teachers are the most difficult to find, particularly in science subjects.

Aija Voitiške, head of the Jēkabpils Municipality Education Administration, said the administration was preparing new scholarship regulations. The plan is to significantly increase support for students pursuing qualifications in subjects needed by local schools and to sign agreements encouraging them to return to work in the municipality.