2024-07-19 06:56:05
In accordance with the decision of the government in March, the municipalities that will have made a decision on the organization of the school network at the beginning of the year can receive funding from the Recovery Fund in the amount of 7,338,739 euros in total.
Four regional municipalities – Aizkraukles, Tukums, Valmiera and Dienvikkurzeme regions have taken decisions on the reorganization of secondary schools located outside the administrative center of the regional municipality and submitted them to the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM).
Six general education institutions were nominated for investment support: Jaunjelgava High School, Nereta Jānis Jaunsudrabiņa High School, Pļaviņu High School, Jaunpils High School, Naukšēni High School and Priekule High School. None of these schools will receive funding because they do not meet the pre-selection criteria.
The municipality will be able not to accept the decision on the reorganization of the general secondary education institution, if at least 60 students studied in the 10-12th grade group on September 1, 2023, the ratio of the number of students to one teacher is 11 or more, or the municipality can certify that the educational institution compliance with the conditions will be ensured until September 1, 2025, including the reorganization of other educational institutions.
Due to this criterion, Jaunpils secondary school was not included in the pre-selection. The Ministry of Education and Culture explains that the municipality of Tukuma region has not informed the ministry about the reorganization of Engure secondary school. According to the data of the State Education Information System (VIIS), there are 29 students in the 10th-12th grade group in Engure secondary school, and the ratio of students to one teacher is 7.6.
On the other hand, Priekule secondary school directed by the municipality of Southern Kurzeme region is not included in the pre-selection, because the municipality has not made decisions on the reorganization of Nīcas and Vaiņodes secondary schools. According to VIIS data, in these schools there are 47 and 31 students in the 10th-12th grade group, respectively. On the other hand, the ratio of the number of students to one teacher is 8.6 and 9.2.
The municipalities have also not confirmed that the educational institution’s compliance with the conditions will be ensured until September 1, 2025. At the same time, they justified the preservation of secondary schools by the conditions of the respective inhabited areas and considerations of the distance from the students’ place of residence to the nearest educational institution.
The Ministry of Education and Culture confirmed that Engure secondary school and Vaiňode secondary school can be maintained as accessibility schools with appropriate conditions. At the same time, the normative regulation on the criteria of the school network is still being developed, therefore, the failure to adopt reorganization decisions for these secondary schools in the pre-selection of investment projects cannot be accepted, the ministry explains the decision.
On the other hand, the municipality of Valmiera region will not receive funding, as the Naukšēni secondary school, which it directs, has seen a decrease in the number of students since 2018.
Funding will be received only by the municipality of Aizkraukle district, which has kept Koknese secondary school and Skrīveru secondary school outside the administrative center of the district. According to VIIS data, 60 and 70 students study in these schools in the 10th-12th grade group, respectively. In addition, the ratio of the number of students to one teacher in Koknese secondary school is 11.9, which exceeds the pre-selection criteria.
Within a month, the local government will have to submit project submissions on the modernization of the learning environment, creating a “modern, ergonomic and hygienic learning environment” in educational institutions and providing it with the necessary equipment for the modern learning process.
The deadline for the implementation of the projects is May 31, 2026.
Further use of the recovery fund’s funding balance of 2,935,496 euros will be determined by a separate government decision.
As the LETA agency was informed by the Ministry of the Interior, investments are currently planned for 19 secondary schools reorganized as primary schools. In the first round of the recovery fund, compliance with the investment criteria was confirmed for 16 reorganized primary schools in Cēsi, Gulbene, Jelgava, Kuldīga, Limbažu, Madona, Ogre, Smiltene and Valmiera counties.
At the same time, Ilmārs Gaiš Koknese secondary school and Andrejas Upīš Skrīveru secondary schools, which meet the criteria of a sustainable secondary school, are preserved in Aizkraukle district.
2024-07-19 06:56:05