The council of Alūksne in the northeast of Latvia has agreed in concept that from 1 September there will be only one school in Alūksne – the Ernsta Glika Alūksne State Gymnasium. It will be the only educational institution in the city and the region where secondary education will be available, LETA reports.
Currently, Alūksne has the Ernsta Glika Alūksne State Gymnasium, which teaches pupils in grades 10-12, and the Alūksne Secondary School, which teaches both pre-school children and pupils in grades 1-12.
The draft decision “On general education institutions in the town of Alūksne” was submitted by six deputies – Council Chairman Dzintars Adlers (New Unity, JV), Jānis Skulte (JV), Aivars Fomins (Vidzeme Party and Latvian Association of Regions), Modris Račiks (elected from the New Conservative Party, currently For Latvian Development, LA), Jānis Sadovņikovs (LA) and Maruta Kauliņa (JV).
Adlers explained that the decision on school reorganisation should be taken six months before the new school year, and in special cases – three months in advance.
“I would like to see such decisions taken by the next legislature, but the three-month period starts in June, so I believe that this council is responsible for how work will be organised in the next school year,” said the council chairman.
In guiding this decision, he is confident that Alūksne, as the sixth smallest municipality in the country, should not keep two general education institutions in the city. It is both an economic decision and a decision focused on the quality of education.
“I would like to remind you once again that this is a conceptual political decision. There will be a lot of work to do and, I assume, complementary decisions on how we will implement this model and whether we will have it in place by 1 September this year,” said Adlers.
Adlers admitted that there is also a possibility that the new council could reverse this decision, but he hoped that this would not happen.
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