Not every student needs their own psychologist: Ministry of Education responds to criticism 0 10

State control emphasizes that every student should be provided with sufficiently challenging educational opportunities and timely support to overcome learning difficulties; however, in practice, the availability of support remains inadequate.

During the audit, it was established that from the 2023/2024 to the 2025/2026 academic year, the workload of support staff in the sampled schools increased by 32%. In this academic year, with the partial implementation of the new funding model "Program in School," state-funded positions increased by 31%, but educational institutions are only experiencing about an 11% increase, as co-financing was reduced in several municipalities.

State control indicates that according to calculations, a speech therapist can devote on average only 11 minutes per week to one student with speech disorders, a psychologist — 14–18 minutes, and a special educator — from seven to 11 minutes per week. In the auditors' opinion, this volume is insufficient for full support.

The auditors emphasize that teacher assistants should primarily be provided in grades 1–3 to timely help students with learning difficulties, while in grades 4–6, the need for support should be assessed individually. However, it has been established that in several schools, teacher assistants are also engaged in grades 7–9, while in the initial stages, support is not always sufficient.

For example, at the Riga State First Gymnasium, the workload of teacher assistants significantly exceeds the volume provided in certain schools with younger students, where such support is particularly needed. The provision of teacher assistants in these educational institutions, even considering municipal co-financing, is lower than at the Riga State First Gymnasium.

The report states that representatives of the gymnasium explain the increased number of assistants by the desire not to lose the funding allocated for support staff. In practice, these specialists work individually with students who require additional support in subjects such as mathematics, physics, or chemistry, and also participate in organizing work when dividing the class into smaller groups. Teacher assistants can also lead clubs or perform the functions of leaders and observers when students participate in competitions.

Evaluating the school's tariffing, the auditors found that the position of teacher assistant is tariffed for more than a third of the educators at this educational institution. In most cases, these are teachers of basic or general education, who, in addition to teaching, are also allocated a position as a teacher assistant. For some educators, such a combination provides nearly a full 40-hour work week.

State control expresses concern about the principles of funding support staff in the "Program in School" model — it is not based on sufficiently studied needs of students and does not provide assurance that all students receive the necessary support for development. The report states that the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) did not present data or research confirming the adequacy of the volume of support staff established by the model relative to the number of students.

Evaluating the information provided by the Riga municipality about students with support measures in the 2024/2025 academic year and applying the calculations provided by the model, the auditors concluded that one psychologist can devote only 14–18 minutes per week to one student with support measures.

For example, at the Riga Teika Secondary School, two psychologists were actually employed full-time, but even in this case, it averaged 17 minutes per week per student with support measures.

Similar conclusions were made regarding the availability of special educators. Calculations show that according to the "Program in School" model, a special educator can devote only 7–11 minutes per week to one student with support measures. Additionally, in some schools, this position is actually vacant, as it has not been possible to find a suitable specialist for several years.

Furthermore, schools from the sample indicated that the provision of support staff remains insufficient. In focus groups organized by State control, it was also concluded that there is a need for more support specialists than the current model provides, especially teacher assistants, special educators, and psychologists.

State control calls on the MoES, in cooperation with municipalities and educational institutions, to ensure the availability of support staff in schools according to the needs of children. The audit emphasized the necessity to study the needs of primary school students for support using research and data provided by educational institutions.

The State control also recommends enshrining in regulations such positions of support staff that are based on identified needs and ensure the provision of necessary support to students.

The ministry, in turn, notes that the proportions used in the funding model serve as a basis for calculations; however, school management has the flexibility to make decisions about the distribution of specific specialists according to the needs of the school.

Kalvans emphasized that directors can choose which support specialists to engage in greater numbers — for example, psychologists, speech therapists, or social educators, as well as carry out internal redistribution of funding among support staff positions. Additionally, the reform provides for state funding for social educators, which was previously mainly the responsibility of municipalities, noted the MoES official.

The volume of funding provided for the reform is currently implemented at 70%. The ministry considers this optimal given the capabilities of the state budget and the availability of corresponding specialists in the labor market.