Ministry of Education Official: School Leaders Struggle to Handle Freedom and Autonomy 0 8

According to the official, he can confirm this from his own experience as a former head of an educational institution.

Kalvans noted that the issues identified in the report — differences in the number of teaching hours, canceled classes, insufficient support for gifted students — are a consequence of a deeper problem: "We do not know how to cope with the freedom given to us — what the state and the educational standard provide."

He added that when schools are given more freedom, which they themselves request, "certain peculiarities" emerge.

Deputy Ilze Vergina (JV) emphasized that it is important not to look for a single culprit — neither among schools, nor among directors, teachers, or educational management bodies. She noted that schools were held to high standards (diagnostics, individual approach, support systems), but there were not enough methodological materials and clear recommendations, so everyone acted as best as they could.

In her opinion, changes will need to be made to the basic education standard.

A representative of IZM reported that a review of curricula for all subjects is already underway, and the next step will be to determine the necessary changes to the standard. Clarifications in the Cabinet of Ministers' regulations regarding quality education requirements are also expected this summer.

She noted that the problem with the standard is that society considers it overloaded and complicated; however, during discussions, there is usually a desire to add even more content rather than reduce it.

It is also planned to:

• introduce a unified procedure for schools to publish information about the programs offered;
• develop regulations on how to integrate subjects.

The Chair of the Saeima Education, Culture and Science Commission, Agita Zarinya-Sture (JV), believes that the State Audit report would be more effective if it emphasized the responsibility of all levels — schools, municipalities, and politicians. In her opinion, municipalities may get the impression that IZM should mainly solve the problems.

State Auditor Edgars Korčagins explained that the report focuses on the ministry because the current policy is not working, and it is the ministry that is responsible for its formation: "We are not saying that the ministry should do everything alone, but as the policy holder, it is the central link."

It was previously reported that the State Audit revealed that children in Latvia do not have equal access to quality basic education.

Despite a unified standard and school accreditation, the volume of education, assessment approaches, and level of support vary significantly, affecting student outcomes and their opportunities to continue their education.

In IZM, it is believed that the audit's conclusions are generally understandable; however, some of them no longer reflect the current situation, as significant reforms have begun and continue in the education system.