Reaching agreement on raising teachers' minimum hourly wage the most important achievement during government's first 100 days - Caksa

  • 2023-03-22
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - Looking back on the government's first 100 days in office, Education and Science Minister Anda Caksa (New Unity) believes that her most significant achievement is the government's conceptual agreement on increasing teachers' minimum hourly salary to EUR 8.5 from September 1.

A lot of work has gone into changes to the school network and increasing teachers' salaries, said Caksa.

Another important achievement is switching to Latvian as the sole instruction language in schools, also effective September 1, said Caksa.

The third key achievement is the adoption of the 2023 state budget. The total amount of funding for education and science this year is EUR 184.4 million, including EUR 51.8 million for science and EUR 5.6 million for sports. An additional EUR 61.6 million has been allocated for teachers' salaries.

The most challenging task to be completed is preparation of teaching aids and materials, which will not be fully completed by the next school year, said Caksa. Continued improvements to the school network are also highly important, she added.