Latvia is located on the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, and has borders with Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. Latvia’s area is 64.500 sq. km. It has four historical districts: Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Latgale, Zemgale and 26 rural regions & 56 towns and cities, of which the biggest are Liepaja, Ventspils, Jelgava, Jurmala, Riga, Rezekne, Daugavpils. Latvia’s capital is Riga with a population of 747,000 and Latvia’s total population is about 2.288 million (Latvians (58.8 percent), Russians (28 percent), others (13.2 percent)).
The ethnic mix of the population of Latvia is largely the result of massive post war immigration, which resulted in a decline in the share of ethnic Latvians from 77 percent in 1935 to 52 percent in 1989. Therefore there is a feeling that Latvia is a country of two communities: Latvians and Russian speakers. Latvian is the only official language though Russian is widely spoken and TV and newspapers for instance are available in Latvian and Russian. Management in Latvia tends to be young, especially in new industries. Most of them will speak reasonable English. But the more senior the person, the less likely they will speak good English. Language and ethnicity is a sensitive issue and should be addressed carefully.
Latvia is a parliamentary democracy. Legislative powers are vested in the elected 100 member Saeima. The head of state is the President, elected by the Saeima. Last government elections were held on 7 October 2006. Current president Mrs. Vaira Vike-Freiberga was re-elected for a second term in June 2003.
The Saeima appoints the Cabinet of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, who holds executive authority, and 18 Ministers. The existing Prime Minister Mr. Aigars Kalvitis is in his post since 2 December, 2004 and the government is made up of a coalition of three political parties - the Latvia’s First Party, People’s Party and the Alliance of the Latvian Green and Farmers Union.
Gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2006 increased by 13.1 percent, in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year (according to the Central Statistical Bureau).
The increase in GDP in this period was due to the rises in the following sectors: 17.7 percent in trade (share in GDP structure 22.6 percent), 6.0 percent in transport and communications (13.6 percent), 8.8 percent in manufacturing (12.7 percent) and 17.5 percent in construction (4.7 percent).
All sectors of the economy showed growth but the main increases were in trade, construction and communications. Large increases in sales of non-food goods are being fuelled by the availability of credit. The number of mortgages offered in the last year was also growing. With annual consumer price inflation running at 6.7 percent (2005), GDP growth in 2005 was an impressive 10.2 percent compared to the same period in 2004.
There were 99,1000 unemployed persons in Latvia in 2005, namely, 8.7 percent of economically active population (employed and unemployed). Compared with the previous year, both the number of unemployed (118,6000 persons in 2004) and the share of unemployed in the total number of economically active population (10.4 percent in 2004) have decreased in 2005. The lowest unemployment rate was in Riga (4.5 percent), the highest in the eastern border areas of Rezekne (24.8 percent) and Ludza (27.0 percent).
The nine-year compulsory basic education begins at age seven, with four years of primary education, followed by five years of lower secondary education. The language of instruction at basic level is either Latvian or Russian. At age 16, after completion of compulsory education, students may choose to continue education to upper secondary level. There are two types of upper secondary education programs: general secondary and vocational secondary education and training programmes. The compulsory curriculum of three-year general secondary schools (vidusskola, gimnazija), determined by the National Standards, is available in the following profiles: general comprehensive; humanities/social; mathematics/natural sciences/technical; vocational/professional (arts, music, business, sports).
General secondary education is aimed at students wishing to pursue their studies to HE level, and comprises eight compulsory and three to six selected subjects according to the profile. Upon graduation, students have to take at least five centralised national examinations. The certificate of general secondary education (Atestats par visparejo videjo izglıtıbu) and a certificate of the passed centralised exams detailing scores are awarded to all students who have received a positive assessment in all the subjects according to their chosen profile, and the national examinations.
Atestats par visparejo videjo izglitibu (Certificate of General Secondary Education) may be acceptable for entry to higher education, with the exception of English Language. It is considered by Latvian authorities as comparable to GCSE A level.
Centralised exams are marked A - F. For HE accession, usually grades A - D are needed. In general, the grading system for subjects appearing on the Certificate of General Secondary Education (Atestats par visparejo videjo izglitibu) is as follows:
The mark 8 indicates that the knowledge and skills acquired correspond fully to the expected maximum level. Marks 9 and 10 are evidence of knowledge and skills substantially higher than expected at the appropriate level of learning and are therefore somewhat like A+ and A++.
Vocational education and training programmes have also been developed, with the majority of schools providing three- and four-year vocational education and training programmes at upper secondary level. Graduates of four-year programmes have the opportunity to combine the acquisition of vocational qualification with general secondary education. The number of general education subjects integrated in the four-year vocational educational curricula qualifies the graduates to enter tertiary education programmes.
The secondary vocational education programme culminates in five centralised examinations. One of these is a national qualification or national examination. The remaining four are held in compliance with the terms of general secondary education acquisition. Only holders of a certificate of secondary vocational education (Diploms par profesionalo videjo izglıtıbu) are eligible for access to tertiary education.
The certificate of general secondary education (Atestats par visparejo videjo izglitibu) or secondary vocational education (Diploms par profesionalo videjo izglitibu) give the right for entry to HE.
The admission procedure may vary, depending on the level of competition, ranging from one - four competitive entrance examinations, to a ranking of applicants by results of centralised national school-leaving examinations, or final marks in subjects relevant to the programme. The admissions board may conduct interviews. HEIs establish their entry requirements three years prior to enrolment, and five months ahead of first enrolments for new courses.
The HE system is binary, with academic programmes based on fundamental and / or applied science, comprising a thesis at the end of each stage leading to the Bakalaurs (Bachelor), awarded at the end of the first stage, and Magistrs (Master) degrees. Magistrs or equivalent is required for admission to doctoral studies. Since 2000, professional degrees can also be awarded.
The Diploma of first level professional HE/college programmes is the Diploms par pirma limena profesionalo augstako izglibitu and Diploma of second-level professional HE Diploms par otra limena profesionalo augstako izglibitu.
The UK is a popular study destination for Latvians. After EU accession and “home” tuition fees studies in UK for Latvians became more affordable. It is very difficult to estimate the number of students studying in UK as Latvians do not need visas to enter the UK. Therefore it is complicated to track correct figures. Regarding the UCAS statistical data 205 students have been studying on undergraduate programs in 2005 /2006 academic year. There are also people who moved to work in UK and might be studying part time, as well as those on postgraduate programs, language courses and Foundation years.
The most popular Education UK product is English language courses but undergraduate studies becomes very popular as well (215, 4 percent increase in 2005). Further education in the form of foundation and A-level as a route into the British University are also growing in popularity.
UK is the preferred destination for Higher Education because quality of British education is very well known in Latvia. But students are also considering USA, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, and France for continuing their education. UK and EU countries with no tuition fees and possibility to study in English seem attractive for Latvians because Latvia still is a price sensitive market. Demand for Distance learning has been also growing generating interest from students and institutions.
British Council Latvia has one office in Riga, which is shifting from the traditional face-to-face counselling and placement services towards virtual services. For several years we have focused our efforts on capacity-building of the local educational agents to ensure that they have necessary knowledge and skills to market the Education UK better. There is quite well established network of education and travel agents in Latvia, most of them selling ELT education products. Number and quality of Education Agencies specialised on academic programs is growing. Virtually all agents represent multiple countries, but the main destination is UK.
Since 2003, we have been supporting initiative of Agents to organise International Education Fairs with practical advice and targeted marketing. In this way we are able to reach a wider audience across Latvia.
Our key partner is the Baltic Council for International Education. Their Fair “The International Education Days 2007” will take place on March 30-31 for the third time. The British Education Days organised in September 2006 happened for the first time, but are going to be continued next autumn.
ECI (Educational Consultants International) initiative Fair “Education and Carrier” in October 2006 was supported by BC for the fourth time. Of course, we still offer a range of support services to our UK partners, especially in the area of market intelligence and on-going information provision.
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