The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in final reading the state budget for 2026, LSM reports. Altogether 52 MPs voted for and 42 against the budget bill. This is the current coalition government’s third budget. The government foresees annual revenues of EUR 16.1bn, which would be EUR 944.6mn more than in 2025. Budget expenditures…
Estonia had the highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the Baltic States in 2023, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. Estonia had 12.5 pupils per teacher in primary to upper secondary education in 2023, which was up from 12.4 in 2022. Latvia had 11.9 (11.5) and Lithuania 11.4 (11.4) pupils per teacher. The EU average was 12.2…
Latvia’s Ministry of Education and Science has proposed reducing the number of advanced-level centralised exams in secondary school by one, LETA reports. Under the ministry’s proposal, graduates would be required to take five instead of six mandatory exams. At the moment, high school graduates in Latvia need to take five compulsory exams: Latvian, a foreign…
The Latvian government may have to take additional austerity measures to implement the ruling coalition’s policy priorities, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, LETA reports. Earlier, ministries submitted proposals to cut altogether EUR 150mn in public sector spending in 2026. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Silina said that the sum might not be enough to…
Five schools in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, will take part in a pilot project to curb children’s use of smart devices, ERR reports. Ott Oja, head of Tallinn’s mental health action plan for children and youth, said that the city was developing the project in collaboration with researchers at Tallinn University’s Centre for Educational Psychology…
Latvian municipalities have begun switching on central heating for households amid the onset of colder weather, LETA reports. Riga’s municipal housing company, Rigas Namu Parvaldnieks (RNP), began providing heating to tenants on 4 October 2024. RNP will turn off heating automatically on warmer days. The Jekabpils municipality will switch on heating in kindergartens first and…
The Lithuanian government has launched a pilot scheme to combat the use of narcotics and smoking in schools, LRT reports. Seven schools in Vilnius, Klaipeda, and Alytus will take part in the pilot programme, placing students under closer surveillance. The aim is to develop a joint response plan to prevent drug use and smoking. The…
Lithuanian and German officials have signed an agreement on the rights of German troops, civilian personnel, and their families in Lithuania, BNS reports. The agreement was signed by the Lithuanian and German defence ministers, Laurynas Kasciunas and Boris Pistorius, as well as deputy foreign ministers Jonas Survila and Tobias Lindner, in Berlin. The agreement provides…
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry summoned a representative of the Russian embassy in Lithuania to protest Russia’s intensified shelling of civilian targets in Ukraine, BNS reports. Russia’s bombing of educational buildings, hospitals, and civilian homes showed its complete disregard for human life and rules of war, the Foreign Ministry stated. The ministry pointed out that both the…