In the summer, the government decided that starting the next school year, children – war refugees from Ukraine – will have to study in Latvian schools in person. The Saeima’s support is needed for this requirement to come into force. However, the idea is currently stuck in the Saeima, Latvian Radio reported on December 3.
A Ukrainian child living in Latvia as a result of the war who is at least five years old would have to study full-time in an educational institution registered in Latvia from the next school year, according to amendments to the Law on Support of Ukrainian Civilians, directed by the Ministry of Education and Science and supported by the Government.
When they were first considered by the Saeima’s Committee on Defense, Internal Affairs and Prevention of Corruption, objections were voiced both by the Saeima’s Legal Bureau and by some NGOs. The main legal objection is that it will not be equal treatment if Latvian children are allowed to study in distance education, but Ukrainians are not.
“We, in the faction of the Greens and Farmers Union, have discussed this issue, and one of the arguments why we cannot support it in this wording at the moment is precisely the unequal treatment of Ukrainian citizens and Latvian citizens. At present, the Law on Education provides for five forms of education, including, of course, distance learning,” says ZZS faction MP Līga Kļaviņa.
Another argument against a mandatory requirement for face-to-face education is the mental state of war refugees. War refugee Anna Yengalichova – director of the Ukrainian-Latvian Pearls Association and co-founder of the Center for Ukrainian Children – supports the proposed changes to the law, but exceptions are needed.
“We support the law, but last year we already asked for amendments to give our children several forms of learning: not only to allow them to learn in person, but also to allow those who have post-traumatic syndrome and are currently not ready to attend large facilities, such as schools, where they have to learn in a foreign language, to learn at home or by distance learning,” says Yengalichova.
Silvija Amatniece, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science, says that the Ministry has not backed down from its desire to ensure that refugee children study in person.
“In person, we can assess the needs of the children and we can really take into account the best interests of the child by looking at what support the child needs in particular, from a psychologist, a social worker to maybe something more serious. The school can involve the relevant services so that we can really give each child the help they need,” said Amatniece.
The association “I Want to Help Refugees” has also been working since the beginning of 2023 to ensure that Ukrainian refugee children have to study in person.
“Learning for refugee children is more than education, there is a very important socialization aspect, which is crucial for children who come from a traumatic background. It is also about leisure activities, it is about opportunities to learn the language and local culture and to be supported by teachers, it is also about security when parents are working and it is an opportunity for parents to fully enter the labor market,” says Ingmārs Freimanis, the association’s advocacy officer.
Both Freimanis and Amatniece stress that if children are not studying in Latvian schools, the state knows nothing about their well-being. Agita Zariņa-Stūre, who represents New Unity and chairs the Saeima’s Education, Culture and Science Committee, is also on the side of the ministry and the association.
“Yes, I really regret that we have not done this in time, because the sector also gave the message from the very beginning that these children should be given Latvian language [lessons] in the first half of the year and then slowly put them into full-time schools; we have not done this,” says Zariņa-Stūre.
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