In order to introduce the new model on September 1, the state budget would have to find an additional 35.5 million euros next year, and 106.5 million euros annually in 2026 and thereafter, according to the latest calculations of the financing model. However, the necessary funding for this is not provided in the 2025 budget or in the future.
Upon reviewing its budget, the Ministry of Interior could allocate a couple of million euros for the implementation of the new model, the parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Interior Silvija Amatniece (JV) told LETA. Ministry of Education and Culture offers to find part of the funding by transferring individual state budget programs in science to European Union fund programs. However, what was found in the budget of the Ministry of Education and Culture would not cover even half of the necessary funding.
The way the Ministry of Education and Culture plans to implement the new school financing model without the funding earmarked for it still worries some opposition members in the Saeima’s Education, Culture and Science Commission.
The parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications admitted at the commission meeting on Tuesday that it will not be possible to find all the necessary funding in the ministry department alone. At the same time, according to her, the coalition is committed to finding the missing funding.
Also, no agreement has yet been reached whether the reform will be implemented gradually, in full from September 1, or whether its implementation will be postponed for another year. Minister of Education and Science Anda Čakša (JV) previously promised clarity on the implementation of the new financing model by the end of the year.
The Ministry of Education and Culture has submitted a draft law to delegate the government to determine the criteria and procedures for municipalities to receive targeted grants for teachers’ wages from September 2025.
The proposed amendments to the Law on Education provide that the government will determine the quantitative indicators of the number of students in class groups as one of the prerequisites for the quality of education.
Also, at the level of government regulations, the procedure by which the state participates in financing the wages of pedagogues employed by municipalities, state universities and private educational institutions that implement general education programs will be discussed, if the educational institution does not meet the established criteria.