Education and Science, Latvia, Legislation, Society

The largest optimization measures began in 2009, when a decision was made to close or reorganize the majority of educational institutions. On September 1, 2009, a total of 84 educational institutions were reorganized. Multiple schools were closed – at the time, the Education and Science Ministry accepted the closure of 57 educational institutions which had provided education to more than 5,500 students a year earlier. From 2004 until the closure of these schools, the total number of students reduced by one-fourth.

Closing schools continued after 2009 albeit at a much slower pace – two schools were closed in 2013 and four in 2014.

The Education and Science Ministry forecasts that the number of students could possibly increase in the coming years, despite the fact that their numbers are still in decline. In 2014/2015, a total of 209,912 students applied for elementary and high school education – less by half than ten years ago.

In 2004, the distribution of schools among regions was comparatively even – half of Latvia's 50 largest schools were in Riga Region, 16% – in Zemgale, 12% – in Latgale and Kurzeme each, 8% – in Vidzeme. This year, the majority of the large schools were in Riga Region.