Education and Science, Latvia

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Tuesday, 09.06.2026, 06:01

Latvian Education Minister: children 7th grade and up work much more than adults

Nina Kolyako, BC, Riga, 22.02.2012.Print version
The Education and Science Ministry has estimated that children, from the seventh grade and onwards, work 53 hours per week (homework included), which is more than what many adults spend at their jobs. Moreover, Latvian teachers, compared to their colleagues in Europe, have much heavier schedules.

The ministry concludes that tension between pupils and teachers has increased. Their schedules are full, but there are no results, Education and Science Minister Roberts Kilis admits in an interview with the newspaper "Latvijas Avize". PISA natural sciences, math and reading tests indicate that Latvian children systematically perform below the average level in the world. Estonian pupils are considerably better – way above, writes LETA.

 

"This means that our system lacks something that would ensure better results. Perhaps, the study load is divided incorrectly. In Finland, there are 400 more natural sciences classes from the first grade until the ninth one than in Latvia. Finland's education indicators are among the highest in Europe," points out the minister.

 

It is clear that it is necessary to reduce the share of home assignments. Compared to other countries, Latvian pupils are much more burdened with such tasks, explains Kilis.





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