Riga, Sept 3 (LETA) - Politicians will think more about their regions during the pre-election period, making decisions about the school network more complicated, Education and Science Minister Dace Melbarde (New Unity) told the Saeima education, culture and science committee meeting on Wednesday.

According to the Education and Science Ministry, 12 municipalities are still working on the school network for the 2024/2025 school year, and a number of key decisions are needed to ensure effective and sustainable access to education services.

Meanwhile, in eight municipalities, the school network is almost complete and decisions on one to two educational institutions are still needed.

The politician agrees that the closure of any school or the reduction of the level of education is a sensitive issue for municipalities and local communities. However, with fewer children, costs per pupil are rising and resources for education are becoming fragmented.

"In the election year, there will be a number of politicians who will only look at their own district, their own electorate. The big challenge is whether we will be able to take these decisions," said Melbarde, pointing to the importance of political support.

The financial side of the reform continues to be another challenge. Significant additional funds will have to be found next year to fully implement the model. Previous estimates suggest that more than EUR 100 million will be needed in 2027, with new estimates on the funding needed for the reform expected in mid-October. However, the fiscal space of the budget in 2027 and 2028 is already projected to be negative.

The new school funding model Program at School is being introduced from this academic year, with funding for support staff first. Melbarde acknowledged that there are still vacancies for support staff in schools.

"The good news is that schools are looking for staff and the number of vacancies is decreasing," the politician said.

As reported, the reform of teachers' pay was proposed as early as 2023 to tackle inequalities against teachers, as pay rises in the current Money Follows Pupil model depend on the number of children in municipalities.

In May this year, the government agreed to fully implement the Program at School model from September 2026, with the millions needed for the reform still to be found in the next years' national budgets. The implementation of Program at School is also among the three priorities for next year's budget, defined by both Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) and President Edgars Rinkevics.

According to the Education and Science Ministry's calculations, an additional EUR 35.7 million will be needed from the state budget next year to implement the reform, and EUR 107.24 million annually from 2027 onwards. The calculations are based on current data on the number of pupils, the structure and the network of educational institutions for the 2024/2025 school year.