Latvian president approves state language reform for Russian schools despite protests

Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis approved on Monday a reform on transition to education in the state language at ethnic minority schools, TASS reports. “Education in secondary schools in the Latvian language will ensure equal opportunities for all young people to get a good education and make a living in Latvia,” Vejonis said. Latvia’s parliament earlier adopted a reform developed by the Ministry of Education and Science, according to which minority schools will start using the Latvian language for most subjects starting from 2020. Only subjects “The Russian Language,” “Russian Literature” and others “linked to culture and history” will be taught in Russian. The gradual implementation of this reform will be launched on September 1, 2019. The defenders of Russian schools earlier held several mass rallies and marches against this reform. Russian-speaking residents make up about 40 percent of Latvia’s population.