RIGA, Sept 22 (LETA) - The longer the Union of Greens and Farmers propagates myths about the closure of small rural schools the worse for the schools themselves, Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said following a government meeting on Monday.

She underlined that the new school funding model, Program at School, provides clear criteria. The previous school funding model, Monday Follows the Student, led to very low wages for teachers and a shortage of teaching staff, the prime minister said.

"The sooner we say what the conditions will be in the future, the sooner it will be clear to the children and parents whether the particular school will be financed or not," the prime minister said.

She asked rhetorically whether the politicians who insist on keeping rural schools open, when in reality they cannot provide teachers, will be able to look children in the eye when in five to ten years they will prove unable to find a job or enroll at university, acknowledging that they were the ones who prevented decisions being taken to enable the children to be competitive.

"I want us to adopt clear conditions that municipalities have to meet in order for such schools to exist and have a full funding model," said Silina.

As reported, the new funding model for Latvia's high schools is being phased in from the current school year, primarily providing funding to support staff. The government has agreed to fully introduce the new funding model from September 2026.

To improve the distribution and efficiency of education funding, this year Latvia has started to gradually introduce a new school funding model called Program at School. The reform provides for funding to be allocated on the basis of the type of school program, class size and the number of students enrolled. However, local authorities will be responsible for co-financing schools that do not meet the criteria set by the government.