Is it right to abandon Russian as a second foreign language in schools? Publicist Andrejs Pantelejevs expresses his opinion in TV24 program “Ziņu top”.
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He explains that he agrees with the previously expressed opinion that perhaps one more compulsory foreign language should be abandoned altogether. It would be Latvian and English as a second foreign language.
However, Panteleyev believes that the Russian language should be preserved and given the opportunity to learn it for those who want it: “However, the opportunity should be left for those who want to learn the Russian language for the sake of their family, for themselves, for their future plans or cultural interests.”
It has already been announced that from the 2026/2027 school year, Russian will be gradually abandoned as a second foreign language in basic education, the government decided on Tuesday.
Currently, Latvian students learn English as their first foreign language from the beginning of school, but after the end of primary school, they start learning a second foreign language. Theoretically, children can learn French, German and other languages as a second foreign language, but in practice Russian is most often taught, because there is a lack of teachers of other languages in schools.
According to data available to the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM), almost half of Latvian schools learn Russian as a second foreign language. Some educational institutions do not offer an alternative to learning the Russian language.
From the 2026/2027 school year, schools will gradually have to offer one of the official languages of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) member states, or a foreign language, the learning of which is regulated by concluded intergovernmental agreements in the field of education, as a second foreign language. Russian is not among such languages.
The adopted amendments to the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers envisage the implementation of a gradual transition, by allocating a greater number of hours per week for learning a foreign language in the 5th grade than it is currently from the 4th grade. 2027/2028 in the school year, learning the second foreign language will be possible in the 5th and 6th grades, 2028/2029. in the school year – in the 5th, 6th and 7th grades, 2029/2030. in the school year – in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades, but in the 2030/2031 school year in the entire elementary school stage (5th-9th grade).
For those students who, by September 1, 2025, will have started learning a second foreign language, which is not one of the official languages of the EU or the EEA, or a foreign language whose learning is regulated by concluded intergovernmental agreements in the field of education, schools will have to ensure its learning until the end of the basic education stage. This will also apply to learning Russian as a second foreign language.
On the other hand, for students who will start studying in the 4th grade on September 1, 2025, learning a second foreign language in 2025/2026. will not be implemented in the school year, so that it would be possible to ensure the implementation of the transition for starting the learning of the second foreign language from the 5th grade.
Minister of Education and Science Anda Čakša (JV) says that in this way Latvia proves its belonging to the European cultural space and the values of the democratic world.
“After the bloodiest war started by Russia in this century, the genocide against the Ukrainian people, the Russian language as a mandatory option for a second foreign language is not acceptable to a large part of Latvian society. Therefore, it is self-evident that we build the development path of national education based on European cultural space and values,” the minister emphasizes.
The adopted amendments do not limit the right of students to preserve and develop their linguistic, ethnic and cultural identity, the Ministry of Education noted. According to the current regulation, students will be able to learn minority language and cultural history interest educational programs.
At the same time, an atypical number of objections from natural persons to the plan of the Ministry of Interior was received during the public consultation. During two weeks, more than 300 opinions of individuals and representatives of various associations were received, most of them are against the gradual abandonment of Russian as a second foreign language in basic education.
The objections are mainly based on the belief that children should not be restricted from learning their native language, and that they should decide for themselves which language to learn. It is also emphasized that the choice to abandon the Russian language for political reasons should not be accepted. Some objectors call such a plan of the ministry “Russian-speaking genocide in Latvia”.
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Tags: abandon Russian foreign language schools Commented Andrejs Pantelejevs
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