Riga, Jan 30 (LETA) - Jurmala City Council is evaluating the possibility of optimizing the school network, but at the same time is thinking about their accessibility, said City Council Chairman Janis Ledins (Latvia's Green Party) in an interview with LETA.

He said it was not about changing the level of education, but rather about optimizing it so that more resources are in one place.

"We are assessing how it could be further optimized. For example, in Kauguri, there is a situation where schools are relatively close to each other. However, we have to take into account that we have a similar situation as in regions. The city is long and narrow, so we have to ensure accessibility everywhere, both in Priedaine and Kemeri," said the mayor.

In his assessment, the city's schools have successfully switched to teaching in the national language.

"I do not see any problems. Rather, I saw that the opposition tried to use this topic politically - that the pupils of Jaundubulti would ruin the Pumpuri school. Now a year has passed, everything is calm, everyone is studying, and I have not heard of any problems," Ledins said.

The mayor did not hide the fact that Jurmala is also experiencing a shortage of teachers, but the municipality is trying to compensate teachers for transport costs so that they are motivated to work in Jurmala.

As for the waiting lists for preschool education institutions, Ledins said that the municipality is not yet able to provide places in kindergartens for everyone, but hopes that after the reconstruction of Bitite preschool in Kauguri this problem will be solved. The municipality provides co-financing for those who attend private kindergartens.