2026

The government clarifies the procedure for monitoring works in compulsory basic education 

On March 31, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers, adopting amendments to the regulations “Procedure for Conducting State Examinations”, clarified the procedure for implementing monitoring works in all grades of compulsory basic education. In the 2025/2026 academic year, it is planned to organize monitoring work in literacy, numeracy and natural science at the end of grades 3 and 6, as well as on the results of the implementation of a unified Latvian language school at the end of grades 2, 5 and 8 in educational institutions that are implementing the transition to teaching in the state language.  

These monitoring works will be organized with the aim of: 

• obtaining comprehensive information on how students have mastered the educational content, 
• promoting data-based decision-making to improve the quality of education at the level of educational institutions, municipalities and the state, and 
• planning and ensuring support for students and teachers.  

Considering that until now, the Cabinet of Ministers' regulations on the procedure for conducting state examinations had only specified the implementation of monitoring work for grade 9 and general upper-secondary education, it was necessary to clarify the regulations regarding the implementation of monitoring work in all grades of basic education.  

At the same time, it has been determined that for the 2025/2026 school year, an educational institution must register students in the State Examination Information System for general basic education state examinations by April 10, 2026, and must also enter the support measures applicable to the student. In turn, from now on, students will have to register for all state examinations within a single period – from November 1 to January 15, but information about support measures must be entered no later than six weeks before the date of the relevant state examination. 

The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 309 of 28 May 2024 "Procedure for Conducting State Examinations" can be found on the legal acts’ portal.

Development of an updated national assessment framework has begun 

In collaboration with education experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Latvian education professionals and policymakers have begun an analysis of Latvia’s national assessment framework. A comparison with the experience of other countries in this area will help to arrive at assessment solutions suitable for Latvia.  

As the focus and required outcomes of national assessments change over time, the principles by which they are designed need to be periodically reviewed and improved. Therefore, work has begun to find answers: which and when national assessments should be held in the future, and how the primary purpose of each assessment differs. 

Joint work with international experts provides Latvian education professionals with the opportunity to use the OECD knowledge base and identify further steps in improving the Latvian education system. The result will be the development of an assessment framework that meets the needs of the Latvian education sector, will be relevant to the long-term goals of each student and will use principles based on evidence and international good practice. 

OECD experts emphasize the need to carefully consider and determine the specific purpose of each assessment task, citing different examples from the practice of other OECD countries. The planned testing of students' basic skills in preschool and especially in grades 3 and 6 in the future is considered by OECD experts to be meaningful and purposeful. It will allows to see each student and the support they need even before the final state examinations at the end of compulsory education. The experience of several OECD countries confirms that such national-level monitoring of student skills serves as an effective support tool for planning the necessary actions not only at the level of classes, but also at the level of educational institutions and municipalities. 

It is planned to continue to use OECD expertise to support the development of a National Assessment Framework appropriate to the national context of Latvia, which is currently being worked on by Latvian education policy and curriculum professionals.

Additional funding is available to local governments for bullying prevention in schools 

To strengthen a safe and supportive environment in Latvian educational institutions, the government has supported a decision to allocate additional funding for the improvement of teachers' professional competence in violence prevention and well-being promotion. The funding is intended for local governments so that they can organize targeted measures for teachers. This is provided by an order of the Ministry of Education and Science, which was approved by the government in March. 

Additional funding will make it possible to expand the already initiated support for teacher continuing professional training and involve a larger number of teachers in it.  

The Ministry of Education and Science already in 2025 allocated additional funding from internal resources for bullying prevention and well-being promotion measures, concluding cooperation agreements and supporting local governments. Together with the previously allocated funding, in 2026 the funding amounts to 420 thousand euros. The funds can be used to improve the professional competence of teachers, seminars, exchange of experience, purchase of bullying prevention and well-being promotion programs, etc. 

The funds allocated this year will allow municipalities to implement professional development courses for teachers, in which teachers will learn the skills to recognize the risks of violence, prevent conflicts, act in difficult situations and provide support to victims of bullying. In order to help systematically work on improving students' interpersonal relationships and emotional well-being, it will be possible to purchase and implement violence reduction and well-being programs in educational institutions. Teachers will be able to better deal with situations related to conflicts, aggression or emotional difficulties at school. 

The Ministry of Education and Science will conclude agreements with municipalities on the use of funding. Municipalities will have to provide a report on the implemented measures, the number of teachers involved and the use of funding by 15 December 2026. 

OECD PISA bullying intensity index. Source: OECD (2026), “Bullying in education: Prevalence, impact and responses across countries”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 341, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/d9f8bd9f-en.

As shown by data from international large-scale education surveys (OECD PISA, IEA PIRLS and TIMSS), a significant proportion of Latvian students report that they often experience bullying in schools. OECD PISA bullying intensity index reveals the decrease in bullying intensity in Latvian schools between 2018 and 2022, however the index for Latvia is still the highest among the EU and OECD countries. Educational research indicates that bullying in schools is a social problem.

Parliament extends ban on mobile phones in schools 

The Parliament (Saeima) decided to extend the ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, stipulating that from now on, students will not be allowed to use them throughout primary and lower-secondary school – from grades 1 to 9. The exception will be cases where the teacher has allowed them to be used in the learning process. 

Until now, the ban only applied to students in grades 1–6, but from the next school year, mobile phones will only be allowed to be used in schools from grade 10, according to the amendments to the Education Law adopted in the final reading. The ban on mobile phones throughout primary and lower-secondary school will come into effect on June 1, 2026. 

Source: PISA 2022 Dashboard - Latvia

PISA 2022 data show that many students study mathematics in a disciplinary climate that is not favourable to learning. Significantly higher proportion of students in Latvia than OECD average reported that, in most or every mathematics lesson, they get distracted using digital devices. Students who reported that this happens in at least some mathematics lessons scored lower in mathematics than students who reported that this never or almost never happens. 

Also, students who spend more than two hours a day on digital leisure activities are less satisfied with their lives overall than those who spend less time.

Data network improvements launched in schools 

With the support of the Recovery Fund, the Ministry of Education and Science launched improvements to the functioning of the intranet in Latvian educational institutions. Based on previously identified needs, improvements to the functioning of information and communication technologies, the Internet and intranet will be made in at least 50 educational institutions where this is most needed by July 2026. 

In order to reduce the digital divide and obstacles to learning, 35 000 laptops have been delivered to Latvian educational institutions under the Recovery Fund project Reducing the Digital Divide for Socially Vulnerable Groups and Educational Institutions. Subsequently, in December 2025, the implementation of the second phase of the project was launched – ensuring the availability of appropriate data transmission in educational institutions where it is most needed.

As a result of the project, the quality of data transmission in educational institutions will be improved, ensuring the full use of digital opportunities in the learning process. The planned works include both improvements to the data transmission capacity and intranet infrastructure of educational institutions, as well as the implementation of security solutions, equipment delivery and configuration, as well as the commissioning of solutions.

The total budget for the improvement of the infrastructure in educational institutions exceeds 3 million euros, and it is expected that the intranet improvements will be completed by June 30, 2026.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Science has prepared and provided general recommendations for intranet management to all Latvian educational institutions in the project. The recommendations define the minimum and maximum requirements for the Internet data transmission capacity and intranet technical parameters of educational institutions in order to ensure a high-quality learning process. In accordance with the current situation and local needs, educational institutions can use the recommendations for planning the development of the Internet and intranet infrastructure in an educational institution.

Strengthening schools in municipalities that have streamlined the network of educational institutions 

Nine municipalities, investing more than 8.5 million euros in European Union funds, will modernize the infrastructure of general education institutions, including the construction or reconstruction of schools, the creation or renovation of service hotels, the improvement of sports infrastructure and other investments in the development of a modern and comfortable learning environment, especially the creation of new STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) classrooms and the improvement of existing ones.

The investment programme is intended for municipalities that have organized their network of educational institutions, concentrating resources that provide the opportunity to ensure higher quality and accessibility of education, use public funding more effectively, as well as create sustainable schools with wider opportunities for students. 

Together with the 18 municipalities already approved so far, in mid-2025, EU fund support for improving school infrastructure is now becoming available to 27 municipalities. 

The projects will be implemented by the end of 2028. The investments are being created in synergy with other measures of the EU program, including REACT EU, Recovery Fund investments, state budget loans to municipalities, as well as state budget financing to municipalities, generally promoting the modernization of school infrastructure and learning environment, digitalization of educational institutions, and internet accessibility.
 

2025

Investment in the acquisition and development of educational materials 

An additional €8.9 million will be invested in the acquisition of educational materials for general education, as well as for vocationally oriented education in sports, arts, music, and dance, and for the development of educational materials, with the support of European Union (EU) funds. This is stipulated in the amendments to the regulations prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The additional funding of €8.9 million for educational materials is intended for the purchase of learning aids (books and workbooks) for general education content, educational materials for vocationally oriented education in sports, arts, music, and dance, as well as for the development of educational resources, with priority given to materials for special education needs and advanced upper-secondary school courses.

The approved amendments also foresee an expansion of the range of cooperation partners. In addition to municipalities and state vocational education institutions, the provision of educational materials will be extended to other state and private education institutions. EU fund support for educational materials is planned for all education institutions, regardless of their founder, provided they implement specific education programmes (excluding distance education) – 

• preschool programmes for children aged five and up until the start of basic education,
• general basic (integrated primary and lower-secondary) education programmes,
• general upper-secondary education programmes,
• special education programmes,
• vocational education programmes that include general education content, and
• vocationally oriented education programmes. 

The amendments also specify that funding for educational materials will be allocated based on the number of students. In 2025, an additional €5.5 million will be available for educational materials, and in 2026 – an additional €3.4 million.

This additional funding is necessary because the annual state budget earmarked grants for the purchase of educational materials are insufficient to ensure a high-quality learning process. The shortfall in funding is currently covered by the institution’s founder, within the limits of their own budget, which creates inequality in the provision of quality education. The additional funding for the acquisition and development of educational materials is being provided by reallocating resources from EU fund programmes, a solution that has been agreed upon in discussions with social partners – the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees, the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments, the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia, and others.

The Cabinet regulation amendments “Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 358 of 11 June 2024 ‘Implementation Rules for the EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027 Specific Objective 4.2.2 “To improve the quality, inclusiveness, efficiency, and labour market relevance of education and training systems, including through the validation of non-formal and informal learning, to support the acquisition of key competences, including entrepreneurial and digital skills, and to promote the implementation of dual education and apprenticeships,” Measure 4.2.2.3 “Improvement of the quality of the learning process through the development of a professional support system for teachers, activities for student excellence, and the development of methodological support materials for teachers”’” are available on the website of the Legal Acts of the Republic of Latvia.

Support for the induction year will now be available to apply for within the first two years after obtaining a teacher qualification
 

New teachers will now be able to apply for induction year support within the first two years after obtaining their qualification. As before, during one working year, they will have access to scholarships and practical professional development support to help them integrate more successfully into the school environment. 

The amendments were necessary due to the insufficient engagement of the planned target group — newly qualified teachers — in the induction year activities. By extending the application eligibility for induction year support to two years after graduation, it is expected that a larger number of new teachers will be reached and supported during the remaining course of the project. The amendments also create the opportunity for new teachers to receive professional support in the second year after graduation, in cases where they did not initially recognize the need for support.

The induction year provides systematic support to new teachers after obtaining their teaching qualification. Within the first two years of work in a school following graduation from a teacher education programme, new teachers are entitled to 

• one year of individualized support through professional development groups and lesson observation, which are essential for receiving feedback and strengthening teaching skills,
• enhance their knowledge through professional development programmes,
• a monthly scholarship of EUR 200 for 10 months.

Graduates from initial teacher education study programmes at the University of Latvia, Daugavpils University, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Riga Stradiņš University, and Riga Technical University are expected to participate in the newly established support programme.

Support for graduates of initial teacher education study programmes is provided with the financial assistance of the European Union (EU) funds. The amendments to the regulations — "Amendments to Cabinet Regulation No. 403 of 13 July 2023 on the Implementation of Measure 4.2.2.7 'Implementation of the Induction Year in Teacher Education Programmes' under Specific Objective 4.2.2 of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027" — were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers and are available on the official website of the Cabinet.

It is worth mentioning that according to the newest OECD TALIS 2024 survey, 78% of newly employed Latvian teachers (in the 5 years prior to the survey) have participated in formal or informal induction programmes in their school (OECD average 72%), which is 35 percentage points more than in 2018 (OECD increase - 31 percentage points). 26% of new teachers (with up to 5 years of teaching experience) have been assigned a mentor (the same as OECD average: 26%), and compared to 2018, this figure has increased by 10 percentage points in Latvia. 83% of new teachers work in schools that offer mentoring programmes (similar to the OECD average: 81%) however, in Latvian schools this is the second highest increase among OECD countries compared to 2018. 

Teaching Force programme 

With the motto "The force comes from teaching", applications for the work-based learning programme Teaching Force were open from February until March 2025. Professionals with higher education who wish to obtain a teaching qualification at the University of Latvia, Daugavpils University or Riga Technical University (RTU) Liepaja Academy, while working as a teacher in an educational institution, were invited to apply. Professionals with higher education who have not yet obtained a teaching qualification were invited to apply.

For the sixth year in a row, Teaching Force, a unique work-based pedagogical study programme in Latvia, invites professionals with higher education to obtain a qualification as a teacher. A total of 2014 applications have been received during these five years of implementing the programme, 627 applicants have passed the "Teaching Force" intake, of which 447 started their studies, while 309 teachers have now obtained their teaching qualification.

Teaching Force comprises two phases. In the first year, participants study pedagogical psychology, the professional activity of a teacher and teaching methodology in full-time studies on Fridays at the University of Latvia, Daugavpils University or RTU Liepaja Academy, while working in a school. At the end of the studies, a teacher qualification is obtained. After obtaining the qualification, participants have the opportunity in the second year to supplement their knowledge in one of the professional development programmes for teachers offered at the University of Latvia. 

Throughout the learning process, Teaching Force teachers have access to additional support in the form of a tutor, a placement supervisor and a mentor to support them in their daily school work. A supervisor is also provided when needed. Throughout their training, teachers also receive a stipend, which serves as additional support to enable them to work part-time and successfully complete their training. 

2024

Teachers will be compensated for transport and housing rental costs 

Teachers of educational institutions founded by the State and local governments will be able to receive additional remuneration, compensating for the expenses of transport and housing rent. This is provided for by the amendments to the Education Law approved by the government in August.  

The amendments to the Education Law will provide an opportunity for the founders of state or local government educational institutions to solve issues of material remuneration important to teachers related to the compensation of housing or transport expenses.
Amendments to the law are necessary in order to provide the founders of educational institutions with additional opportunities to attract new teachers and to find solutions so that housing and distance to school do not create obstacles to attracting teachers to the profession. Often, it is the distance to the educational institution and the expenses associated with renting a home that is the reason why teachers have to choose another place of work or type of employment. 

The amendments to the Law provide for possibilities for the founder of educational institutions to determine the conditions, amount and procedures by which teachers are compensated for the expenses incurred. In relation to educational institutions founded by the State, it will be determined by the Cabinet, but for other educational institutions - by their founder. The founder of educational institutions will be able to constantly determine, for example, whether only public transport or only personal expenses, or both, are compensated. The founder of the educational institution will be able to decide under what circumstances the expenses are compensated, for example, the teacher lives at a certain distance from the educational institution and does not have the opportunity to get to the workplace by public transport. 

The amendments to the law complement the initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) so far in order to create the attractiveness of the pedagogical profession and motivation to choose work in educational institutions. The MoES has purposefully ensured and continues to attract additional funding for raising teachers' salaries over the past two years, ensuring the raising of the minimum salary rate, which since 1 January 2024 reaches EUR 1526 per 40-hour working week. According to the approved schedule for increasing the salary of teachers, from January 1, 2025, it is planned to raise the minimum wage to 1656 euros for a 40-hour working week. The MoES also solves important issues related to support for pedagogical studies by providing scholarships, budget study places, as well as repayment of study loans.

As of January 1, teachers' salaries are increasing

From January 1, 2024, the minimum salary rate for teachers will increase by 12%, while for preschool teachers it will increase by 23%, equalizing it with the lowest monthly salary rate for other general education teachers.  

To ensure high-quality and high-quality education, while continuing to increase the salary of teachers, the Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a conceptually new model of financing teachers' wages. In general, the 2024 state budget provides an additional 96.2 million euros for increasing teachers' salaries. The lowest hourly rate for teachers increases from 8.50 euros to 9.54 euros from January 1, which is 12.2% more than before, reaching 1374 euros per month for a workload of 36 hours a week.  

The minimum hourly wage rate for preschool teachers will increase from the current 7.75 euros or 1240 euros per month to 9.54 euros, which is 23.1% more than before, reaching 1526 euros per month for a 40-hour work week. 

The lowest monthly salary rates for heads of general education and interest education institutions, as well as educational methodologists, are also increased. According to the salary increase schedule for teachers approved by the government, the lowest monthly salary rate for teachers for a 36-hour work week will reach 1490 euros from January 1, 2025. The previous increase in the minimum salary rate for teachers to 1020 euros was ensured from September 1, 2023.