All About Latvia

School year begins

Sep 01

AleksSociety 2 Comments

RIGA – Suited boys and dolled up dolls with bows on their young heads flooded the central Rīga this morning tens of thousands of students begin their academic year. The attention is on education, which has been in deep trouble even since Latvia became a free independent country 20 years ago.

Young graduates don’t seem to line up to master the art of teaching. And who could blame them? Who’d want to teach students for 255 lats a month ($500) at the time when the government is gearing for another round of slashing wages and public sector optimization? Meanwhile, the old guard is being laid off, creating a shortage of teachers. Rīga alone lacks 145 teachers.

Meanwhile, students are likely to start their school year roaming the streets with an open alcohol container.

Two years ago, I mentioned the booze that pours into the stomachs of young students on this day. Statistically, 20 per cent of 13- and 14-year-olds use alcohol at least once a week. By the time they reach 17-18, almost half of students use alcohol. Some have even started drinking last night. In an effort to combat youth consuming plenty of alcohol, the parliament adopted and then repealed a ban on alcohol sales on September 1. So much for effective government…