2024-04-25 06:05:14
In the municipalities of Pieriga, the number of students is increasing, unlike in other counties, and it is not about closing schools and managing empty houses, but about the construction of new buildings or extensions. The statistics are also positive in the Ķekava district – a total of 3,604 children study in six general education institutions, which is 132 more than the previous year, and 1,200 more in the ten-year period.
Primary schools are overcrowded
The number of students in the three largest educational institutions increases every year. One of the reasons is the internal migration of the country’s population. This is most noticeable in Ķekava secondary school, where 1,683 students are currently studying (50 more than in the previous school year), and in Baložu secondary school, which currently has 929 students (almost 80 more). Baldones secondary school also shows a slight increase – 618 students study there. The number of students in Pļavniekkalns primary school is stable – it is around 190. In Daugamale primary school, which is located in the countryside, the number of students is 130-140. Baldone primary school has the fewest students – 80 (until 2022 it was Baldone Music primary school).
The proximity of Riga is both a plus and a minus. In primary school classes, there is no need to worry about the lack of students, and binding regulations of the municipality have even been adopted, which do not provide for the admission of children declared in other municipalities to the schools of Ķekava district. This also applies to the Pļavniekkals primary school (grades 1-6) in Katlakalna, where the school extension is currently being built (previously there were temporary modules in its place), so students study in the former Ķekava primary school building. On the other hand, in the middle school stage, although the number of students is sufficient, it is still less than one would expect. This is especially true for Pigeon High School, which is the closest to the capital. The reason is that after finishing the 9th grade, many choose to continue their education in gymnasiums or secondary schools in the center of Riga, as well as in vocational education institutions.
Every town by high school
Currently, there are a total of 323 high school students in the three high schools of Ķekava district: Ķekava high school – 187, Baložu – 75, Baldones – 61. True, the trend is positive – the number of students in grades 10-12 is increasing every year, and it is predicted that with the growing number of primary school students the curve of the number will rise in the following years also in the group of high school students, explains Linda Zaķe, head of the Education Administration of the Ķekava region. The local government is determined to preserve all three secondary schools – one in each of the towns of the region, therefore it pays great attention to the expansion of secondary school options.
Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the quantitative criteria for students developed by the Ministry of Education and Science, which depend on the district’s urbanization indicators (DEGURBA). They are changed from time to time, and Ķekava county has been included in both a worse and a better position. “At the moment, I still don’t understand what requirements will be applied to the districts of Pierīga: whether the school will need 120 students or 90 at the secondary school stage, maybe another number will appear,” emphasizes L. Zaķe, adding that it is very difficult to work and plan in such ignorance , because every minister and Saeima convocation comes with new settings and proposals. He is also worried about the fate of rural schools – their closure lengthens transportation routes and children have to spend an entire hour on the bus to get to the educational institution. Also in Ķekava county, students have to take a shorter or longer route to educational institutions – a total of 14 routes have been developed, which are provided by regional carriers (the municipality does not have its own school buses, as it is more financially unprofitable to maintain them).
When asked about teacher vacancies, L. Zaķe admits that there are a lot of them – about 10% are missing. Sometimes, when one of the teachers falls out of line, even the employees of the Education Board help to replace them so that the teaching process does not suffer. Unfortunately, as long as the prestige of the teaching profession is as low as it is now, nothing will change, young people will not want to work in school.
Expands classrooms
There has been a school in Daugmale since 1926, and the number of students has fluctuated between 100 and 150 all this time. There are 132 students and another 109 children of pre-school age (kindergarten is a structural unit of the school). True, in the 1990s there was a period when, due to the demographic gap, the 1st class was not completed with a gap of a few years, and seven of the nine classes were filled. At that time, Daugmale was an independent municipality and decided that, despite such gaps, the school should be preserved, says Andris Ceļmalnieks, director of Daugmale elementary school, who has been working here since 1985, and as director since 1999.
The old school was built in such a way that 15 children could fit in the classroom, but after 2000, when the number of students slowly started to grow, the narrowness of the rooms in the old wing caused certain inconveniences. In 2020, it was finally rebuilt – apart from the walls, the classrooms were expanded. So that 18-20 children could study in them comfortably and in accordance with the established hygiene norms (maximum 23 in one class). On the other hand, the new extension was built in 1989 – during the Soviet rule and the collapse of collective farms – and the quality of the construction and materials was the same. This is evidenced by the inconvenient configuration of the premises and also various technical problems that pop up from time to time. In fact, it was designed as a kolkhoz sports complex, with an emphasis on grass. By the way, another construction is expected soon – a sports field will be built, the project for which is already ready.
Problems with language teachers
When the counties were united, Daugamale had two options: to be friends with Baldoni or Ķekava. It was decided in favor of the second. Until now, the district has not discussed changing the status of the school, transforming it into a primary school. The fact that the population of Ķekava continues to grow allows us to hope that when the ceiling is reached in the large schools, some part of the children could study in Daugmale as well.
The director has no grudges about the reduction in rank, but he does have a grudge about the vision of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s network of schools, including the place of small schools in it. “The message that small schools are not competitive and should be closed refers to teachers – they have doubts about the school’s future. Vacancies are difficult to fill. Daugmale’s eternal problem is foreign language teachers. Four have changed in six, seven years,” A. Ceļmalnieks said. (Former Minister of Education and Science Anita Muižniece also worked here as an English teacher.)
One of the reasons – since there are no parallel classes here, it is not possible to provide a full workload. Also, the science teacher, who is a human-orchestra, because she teaches five subjects, cannot read the required number of lessons, namely 30. If such a teacher leaves, the hole is very difficult to fill. Fortunately, there are educators who are willing to travel a considerable distance – even from Bauska and Vecumnieki – to work here. Unlike other rural schools, alongside very experienced employees, such as Zinaida Matisone, who is currently a librarian and leader of small groups, there are also young colleagues, according to the school director.
The special programs are not licensed here, but there are primary school teachers who have the qualification of a special pedagogue, so if the parents do not object, a child with special needs can study here. There is also a teacher’s assistant, support staff.
Two annexes were built
Baloži secondary school has grown rapidly in the last decade – from 530 to 929 students, increasing the number of students by several dozen every year. Currently, there are already five sets of 1st and 2nd classes, in the other groups – four each, on average there are 24-25 students in the classes. This has already caused the school to increase its area twice: one extension was completed in 2012, the other in 2022. The area is filled and there is no more room to expand, says school principal Vita Brock.
In most of the class groups, the ceiling has already been reached, only in some there are still free places, for example, there are those after the 6th grade, when there are students who, for example, enter pro-gymnasiums. After the 9th grade, the majority chooses to enter Riga’s general education or professional education schools. Currently 10-12. there are 72 students in classes here, and if the new quantitative criteria were to come into force now, they would not be enough. However, the school is determined to reach the required 120 within three years – it is planned to increase to 90 next year.
If, however, the status of the school were to change, then the nearest high school would be in Ķekava, which is so full that it could not accommodate so many students. In Riga, the closest one is the 47th secondary school, which will turn into a primary school from September 1, 2025, but nothing prevents you from trying your hand and enrolling in one of the center’s gymnasiums or secondary schools. But the question arises – does everyone need it, because you have to take into account the time spent on the road and large classes?
There are still minority classes
As for the minority program, which until now could be studied at the Balož High School, it was abandoned in the primary school a few years ago and students were only admitted to the Latvian stream. Now there are only three Russian classes left (6th, 8th and 9th with about 100 children) – and in two years there will be a single school here. Since there has always been a much larger flow of Latvians here, this has determined the environment in the school and the use of the Latvian language in Russian classes as well (they are taught by teachers whose native language is Latvian), emphasizes V. Broka. Of course, there are some students who are weak in Latvian and have to do a lot of extra work in primary school to improve these skills.
There is also the question of the place of special programs in large schools. Even if there is a support staff, it is difficult to work with gifted, average and special children at the same time, and some teachers are not even prepared to work with students who acquire knowledge through special programs. Children on the autistic spectrum also need a different approach and environment. It is difficult to find a teacher’s assistant – who will be willing to work for the minimum wage, besides, when the child is not in school, it is not paid for? Mostly retired teachers agree to work with such terms, says V. Broka. According to her, the system is currently not prepared in such a way as to integrate all children and fully prepare them for the 9th grade exams.
The school has 78 teachers and 21 technical staff, there are also vacancies – there is a lack of primary school, foreign language and mathematics teachers. Currently, the learning process is managed by taking on greater workloads. Advertisements often go unanswered, the most important source of supplementing teachers is the project Teaching staff. However, it is clear that there will be vacancies on September 1 as well, admits the school director.
King!Form is a series of articles in which we analyze the current reform of the education system, which may affect around 10% of educational institutions – how this reform will differ from the previous ones.
The project is financed by the Media Support Fund from the funds of the Latvian state budget. About King!Form SIA is responsible for the content of the articles Diens media publishing house.
2024-04-25 06:05:14