Publication: Latvia - Public Expenditures Review : Education Sector
Date
2001-01-29
ISSN
Published
2001-01-29
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This review has three objectives: (i)
assess the education sector outcomes; (ii) evaluate the cost
of the education program and the budget formulation process;
(iii) identify areas to improve the efficiency of public
expenditure on education and make medium-term savings. The
Latvian government has demonstrated a strong commitment to
education. With 7.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)
allocated to education in 1999, Latvian spending on
education compares most favorably to Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards.
Although reforms in the education sector are being
implemented, the sector faces critical challenges. The
education sector has resisted adaptation, in spite of
significant shifts in the enrollment pattern. The number of
preschool teachers and schools only slightly decreased;
while the number of children aged 0 to 6 has been falling.
With fewer children arriving at the school door, it is
becoming harder for the education sector to justify
maintaining small schools, very low student to teacher
ratios and standard teacher's workload of less than 16
hours a week. In the immediate aftermath of its
independence, Latvia returned to a highly decentralized form
of local government. The administration and financing of
general education were assigned to the smallest units of
government, the pagast. In a country with 2.5 million
inhabitants, there are 483 pagasts organized in 26 regions
and 7 metropolitan cities. Out of these pagasts, 40 percent
have less than 1,000 inhabitants, and 46 percent has between
1,000 and 2,000 inhabitants. The Latvian government is a
direct provider of educational services on a large scale. At
the general education level, the government provides 99
percent of education services. In higher education, public
education establishments supply education to 87 percent of
students. In addition to its direct role in the market for
education, the government influences the demand for
educational services through the provision of scholarships,
grants and living allowances, and student loans, and the
regulatory framework it establishes for private and public education.
Citation
“World Bank. 2001. Latvia - Public Expenditures Review : Education Sector. © Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15453 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”