Prohibition to study in Russian – are we going to roll 2000 already known? – Education and career

President Raimonds Vejonis announced amendments to the law on higher education institutions, notably prohibiting private higher education institutions from implementing study programs in Russian. Independent students and student representatives are in agreement: such a step would be a painful step for the Latvian economy. Studies in Russian are already banned in public universities, but allowed (with several restrictions) in the official languages ​​of the European Union.

President of the Association of Private Institutions of Higher Education, President of the Turība Business School Aldis Baumanis says: "Any illogical constraint hampers the development of a system of education. Higher Education The Ministry of Education's proposal regarding amendments to the Higher Education Act for language study programs would have a negative impact on the export of the university. 39. In contrast, RISEBA's Vice Rector of Development, Igor Graur, of the School of Commerce, Arts and Technology, emphasizes: "We have an invisible meaning and reasoning for this prohibition. We will feel the consequences of such a decision as an important blow for the Latvian economy.The ministries say that studies in the European Union are not available in Russian elsewhere. is not true – even in the neighboring country of Lithuania, it is possible to study in Russian too, in Poland there are at least four universities offering studies in Russian. In 2000, Latvia achieved remarkable results in the field of higher education exports, but this year a historic mistake has been made, significantly reducing the possibilities of using Russian and European languages ​​in higher education. higher education institutions. The number of foreign students has dropped sharply: from eight to one percent of the total number of students in a few years. It took 15 years to recover and the numbers were significantly improved. Again, we make the same mistake. "

According to I. Graur, the meeting of university representatives will soon be held in order to decide what to do next.

The Union of Latvian Students (LSA) also opposes these amendments. "Although all graduates of Latvian high schools can begin their studies in programs implemented in Latvian, the only losers will be universities that focus on educational exports

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. 4527 people studied in Russian, 1582 students or 10% studied bilingual or multilingual, one of the study languages ​​being also Russian.