RIGA - The ongoing drama of education reform has taken an apparent turn for the worse, as this week principals of minority schools told President Vaira Vike-Freiberga that they had been physically threatened against any show of support for the government's education reform.
The president promised the school principals that the matter would be discussed with Interior Minister Eriks Jekabsons and the National Security Council.
The minority education reform is set to gradually increase the amount of lessons taught in Latvian at state-run minority high schools. The reform has seen harsh protest from left-wing politicians and regular rallies from school children, yet some minority organizations and schools have admitted that the reforms would raise competitiveness and promote integration.
The president said that the political standoff didn't help the education system and that schools should be protected from the presence of undesirable persons.
Principals told Vike-Freiberga that they "felt very negative, hateful and even threatening attitudes" from the Russian language media in Latvia. They were also concerned that if the names of those attending the April 26 meeting were made public then they would be slandered in the media "and receive accusations and threats."
Vike-Freiberga admitted that, in her opinion, a number of Russian-language media sources have been playing a destructive role, "acting negative against everything and refusing to acknowledge any positive achievements."
The president said there had been trouble contacting parents of students who would be affected by the reform, adding that 70 percent of these parents receive their information from the Russian-language press.
She also noted that promoting strikes and skipping school to meet politicians "is absolutely immoral, as the school kids are not yet voters, and they are being done over, as the education process is being disturbed."
The president and school principals discussed other matters regarding the education system, concluding that both minority and mainstream schools have similar problems, such as computer needs, Internet access and financial difficulties.
Vike-Freiberga is sure that all minority schools in Latvia will manage and suggested that groups of teachers should gather and promote successful models and classes for the bilingual studies program.
During recent protests, both school representatives and students have reported threats to skip classes and join protests against the reform outside minority schools.
Though the minority education reform plan may not be perfect, some sources suggest frequently that protests are related to political aspirations of certain politicians rallying among the country's significant Russian population.
The education reform will affect around one-third of the country's high schools. Latvia's estimated population of 2.4 million includes 60 percent ethnic Latvians and 30 percent Russians. Latvians are a minority in the capital Riga, the biggest city in the Baltic states.
