The Riga municipality is implementing a new admission system for 10th grades, which is expected to speed up the distribution of places and relieve parents from the need to confirm or cancel applications to multiple schools simultaneously.
This year, admission to the 10th grades of Riga schools will take place for the first time using a new dynamic algorithm. The main goal of the changes is to reduce queues and speed up the enrollment process.
Now, when submitting an application, families will need to indicate schools and educational programs in order of preference. After submitting the application, this list cannot be changed.
The new system will operate on the principle of automatic redistribution of places. If a student confirms a place in one of the chosen schools, their candidacy will automatically disappear from the lists of institutions with lower priority. The vacated place will immediately go to the next candidate.
In previous years, "stuck" places became one of the main reasons for delays. Parents reserved places in several schools at once, and the queues moved slowly.
At the same time, the opportunity to get into a more desired school remains. Even after confirming one option, the student will remain on the lists of schools that were indicated higher in priority. If a place becomes available there, the system will be able to offer a new invitation.
What is important to know: the time of application submission does not affect the chances of admission. Documents can be submitted on the first day or the last — all candidates will be considered on equal terms.
The application period will begin on June 27 and will last for five working days. The main method of submission will be the portal latvija.gov.lv, although documents can also be submitted through local government customer service centers.
There will be no limit on the number of applications. Applicants will be able to apply for several schools and programs simultaneously. This is especially relevant for educational institutions where enrollment is conducted in different educational directions.
The distribution of places is planned to begin on July 2. The system will automatically receive the results of centralized exams and other necessary data, so parents will no longer have to enter them manually, as was done before.
After receiving an invitation, the family will have 72 hours to make a decision. The local government emphasizes that the faster parents respond to the offer, the faster the queues move and places are distributed among other candidates.
In the electronic cabinet, parents will be able to see their child's place in the queue and track the progress of the admission campaign almost in real time.
Riga has become the first municipality in the country to implement such a system for admission to secondary school. In the future, a similar principle is planned to be extended throughout Latvia — a unified electronic admission system is expected to be operational by 2028.
At the same time, this year, testing of an electronic register of educational documents will begin. About 500 graduates across the country will receive digital certificates and diplomas for the first time, which can be used and verified entirely in electronic format.
