Ašeradens: Coalition talks on education reforms remain difficult
MP Arvils Ašeradens describes hours-long coalition negotiations over Latvia's education policy, covering the natural science exam, the program-school reform and 9th-grade exams. He warns the current school reform could be weakened.
Education policy has become a point of disagreement among Latvia's coalition partners. Speaking on TV24's programme "Ziņu TOP," Arvils Ašeradens, chairman of the Saeima's Economics, Agriculture, Environment and Regional Policy Committee and a New Unity candidate for the 15th Saeima, discussed the state of the talks.
Ašeradens said the coalition held a meeting the previous day that lasted three hours without producing much progress. He described the education minister as a very determined and stubborn negotiating partner.
Natural science exam
On one issue, the coalition partners appear to have moved closer to agreement: the new natural science exam would not be introduced this year but postponed until it becomes technically feasible, starting with the 2027 school year. According to Ašeradens, there were no major objections on this point.
Program-school reform
Far more contentious were discussions about the so-called program-school reform. Ašeradens voiced concern that the current approach could be significantly weakened or even dismantled, despite what he considers its importance for improving education quality. He stressed that children should receive quality education regardless of where their school is located, while acknowledging the need for flexibility in border-area schools, where shrinking student numbers make it increasingly difficult to form full classes.
He also pointed to inconsistent behaviour among municipalities — some have already made the necessary changes to build a quality school network, while others have avoided reform for political reasons. He recalled a remark by one municipal leader about elections, suggesting a wish to delay unpopular decisions, and warned that scrapping the reform would give an advantage to municipalities that previously resisted change.
9th-grade exams
The talks also touched on what happens when a student fails a 9th-grade exam. Ašeradens criticized the idea of allowing resits, saying it could send the wrong signal. In his view, authorities should investigate why so many students fail to reach the required result rather than simply lowering the requirements.
