Latvia

A fragmented school network resulting from demographic shifts and regional economic developments can place a significant financial burden on education systems across OECD Member and non-Member countries. This is the case in Latvia, which has made the reorganisation of its school network a policy priority. The Latvian Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) is working jointly with municipalities to ensure high-quality education for every child regardless of school location. On this basis, the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills and OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities provided technical assistance to Latvia through capacity building workshops and the co-construction of a geospatial simulation model to identify schools to be considered for closing or merging. This report presents the key findings of the geospatial modelling, confirming there indeed is considerable scope for consolidating the school network and offers concrete policy recommendations for MoES and education stakeholders to consider for advancing Latvia’s school network reorganisation initiative.

This country policy profile on education in Latvia is part of the Education Policy Outlook series. Building on the first policy profile for Latvia (2017), it offers a concise analysis of where the education system stands today in terms of strengths, challenges and ongoing policy efforts, and how this compares to other systems. The profile brings together over a decade’s worth of policy analysis by the Education Policy Outlook, as well as the latest OECD data, relevant thematic and country-specific work and other international and national evidence. It also offers analysis of the Latvian education system’s initial responses to the COVID-19 crisis and provides insight into approaches to building greater responsiveness and resilience for the future

How can Latvia improve the quality and equity of its education system and realise long-term efficiency gains? This report covers the whole education system from early childhood education and care to tertiary education and provides an assessment of Latvia’s policies and practices against the best approaches in education and skills across the OECD. This international comparison brings to the fore the many strengths of Latvia’s education system, but also highlights the challenges it faces and provides a number of recommendations in response. This report will be of value to Latvia but also policy makers in other countries looking to raise the quality, equity and efficiency of their education systems.