Latvian entrepreneur and mother of three: Is summer break too long?

A Latvian entrepreneur and mother of three has published an opinion piece calling for public debate on the length of the country's school summer break, which at roughly 13 weeks is among the longest in Europe. By comparison, England, Germany, Japan and Australia have around 6 weeks of summer break, while neighboring Estonia and Lithuania give students 11 weeks.

The author cites OECD data showing that Latvian primary school students have only 169 instructional days and 583 mandatory teaching hours per year, compared to the OECD average of 804 hours. Total break time in Latvia reaches about 17 weeks per year, versus an OECD average of 13.5 weeks.

A challenge for families and employers

She notes that parents' combined vacation time — roughly eight weeks when alternating — does not cover a child's entire break, especially at primary school age, when children cannot yet fully organize their own day. Solutions like summer camps require extensive planning, significant expense, and are not suitable for every child. The author also cites data showing children's mobile internet use triples during summer, and shares her own experience of her daughter, after attending eight summer camps, asking where her summer had gone.

As a business leader, she also points out that the long break affects workplaces, since parents more often work remotely or with interruptions during school holidays, reducing productivity and adding strain for employers.

Inequality and learning loss

The author stresses that extended breaks can cause learning loss, particularly in math, and widen inequality between families with different financial means. Rather than shortening summer itself, she proposes restructuring the school year with a more evenly distributed workload, shorter school days, and more practical, project-based learning. She offers no specific formula for how many weeks should change, but urges society and policymakers to seriously evaluate whether the current model still fits modern families' needs.