Bogustovs: Latvia ranks last among Erasmus students' destination choices
TV24 journalist Ansis Bogustovs said on the show “Preses klubs” that Latvia ranks last among the destinations European Erasmus students want to study in. He argued the country should focus on unique study programmes rather than compete with popular destinations.
On the TV24 programme “Preses klubs,” journalist and host Ansis Bogustovs offered a critical assessment of Latvia's ability to attract foreign students through the Erasmus exchange programme. He said he has personally taken part in several events discussing the issue, but the situation remains disappointing — among European students, Latvia ranks last among the countries they want to study in.
Bogustovs was ironic about claims that attracting international students is one of Latvian higher education's success stories. He argued Latvia needs to be realistic about its standing compared with more popular European study destinations. He noted that Latvian students themselves often prefer countries with warmer climates and more pleasant living conditions, such as Spain or Italy, where heating costs are not a concern.
Focus on uniqueness
Since Latvia cannot compete with major universities in cities like Paris, which can offer a vast range of study fields, Bogustovs believes the country should instead focus on what makes it genuinely unique — specific study programmes and research centres.
Discussing possible restrictions, such as reducing the number of students from India for political reasons, Bogustovs said this is understandable in the context of migration policy, but such a decision must also account for its consequences — potentially requiring a reduction in the overall number of universities as well.
He recalled that for years, foreign students have provided Latvian universities not only with enrolment numbers but also with significant funding, which has helped the universities gain international recognition — for instance, Riga Stradiņš University has achieved a high ranking in Germany. Bogustovs finds it unreasonable that an already-established system might now be disrupted in order to address unrelated political issues, adding that the ministry already has plenty of unresolved problems of its own.
