The planned changes in the network of municipal preschool educational institutions in Riga will mostly affect areas such as Vecmilgravis, Ilguciems, and Kengarags, said Vilnis Kirsis, Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council, in an interview for the "Morning Panorama" program on Latvian television, according to LETA.
He stated that ten kindergarten buildings are planned to be physically closed in Riga, and several other preschool institutions will be reorganized, meaning that the kindergartens themselves will remain, but will be legally merged. This will help reduce administrative costs. As an example, the deputy mayor mentioned two neighboring kindergartens on Slokas Street, 126 and 126a, whose administrations and paperwork will be combined.
Kirsis emphasized that in cases where the physical locations of service provision remain, parents should not worry about anything. Even where kindergartens will be completely closed, other preschool institutions are just a few blocks away.
In response to a question about planned changes in the capital's general education school network, the deputy mayor reported that a decision was made last year to merge the 31st secondary school in Vecmilgravis with the Rinuzi school. Also, next year, it is planned to merge the Gailezers and Mezciems primary schools, as well as the Sarkandaugava primary school with the Broce gymnasium.
As previously reported, due to the so-called demographic pit and a decrease in the number of students, a number of preschool and general education institutions are planned to be closed and merged in Riga, as in some places their occupancy is only 50–60% of the available capacity.
More detailed information about the upcoming changes in the network of preschool and general education institutions in Riga for the next two academic years will be presented on Friday at a press conference at the Riga City Council.
