While the number of local students in Latvia is decreasing, the number of foreign students is growing, public media report.
Last year, 16% of all students in Latvian universities were foreigners. Due to concerns that the real reason for some foreigners coming to Latvia is not related to studying, the responsible authorities are looking for ways to implement stricter control over the admission of foreigners to Latvian universities and their stay here.
Much more foreigners enroll in Latvian universities than graduate. This raises doubts about the true intentions of these foreigners.
The largest number of foreign students study at the University of Latvia and Riga Technical University, major state universities. The third place in the number of foreign students is held by the Riga Graduate School of Law, a relatively small private university. Previously known as the Higher School of Management of Information Systems (ISMA), it showed the greatest discrepancy between the number of enrolled and graduated foreigners.
Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science reported to the Saeima subcommittee on higher education, science, and human capital on Tuesday that the dropout rate among foreigners is decreasing. In the 2023/2024 academic year, the dropout rate was almost 40%, while in the previous academic year it was already 20%. This does not exceed the dropout rate among local students.
Universities state that they strictly monitor the attendance of lectures by foreigners and their compliance with other requirements. In case of any violations, they are expelled. However, for example, last year, 165 foreigners expelled from universities quickly enrolled in other institutions. Elina Gaile-Sarkane, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at Riga Technical University, stated:
"We mainly expel students for poor academic performance, and this is actually related to a lack of knowledge or, shall we say, debts accumulated over the semester. We inform these students that such a process has begun and they will have to leave Latvia within 20 days. They are then transferred to other universities and study in different programs than those they previously chose."
The Ministry of Education and Science has proposed amendments to the immigration law, which stipulates that a foreigner expelled from a university must leave Latvia, and only upon returning to their home country can they reapply for studies in Latvia. Family members will only be allowed to accompany doctoral students.
