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Minister: higher education should be open for international students
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Roberts Kilis
The Education and Science Ministry has submitted amendments to the Universities Law. These amendments will allow wider use of EU languages at Latvian state universities.
The goal of the bill is to increase competitiveness of Latvian higher education institutions and increase the influx of foreign students. It will also help improve foreign language skills among Latvian students, the minister’s advisor Reinis Tukiss reports.
The University of Latvia has expressed support for the amendments, as well as Rigas Stradins University, University of Daugavpils and the Latvian Employers’ Confederation.
The bill includes increasing the credit points of study programs at Latvian universities that are allowed to be taught in official languages of the EU by a quarter.
The bill also widens the opportunity for state founded universities to offer education programs in foreign languages, including ones that are not among official EU languages.
Latvia is part of a group of countries with the proportion of students that leave the country to study abroad being larger than that of foreigners that come to study. Studies show that the main factors that limits the export of higher education are the rules for language use and the quality of education.
Even though the current Universities Law allows any state founded university or college to offer education programs in foreign languages, the current regulation does not contribute to international competitiveness of Latvian higher education. It limits the opportunity of state founded universities to offer education programs in foreign languages.
The regulation also limits the attraction of foreign students and use of foreign teachers’ knowledge and experience, because students are unable to successfully finish their work in foreign languages. Up until now the Universities Law did not allow qualifications, bachelor’s, master’s and dissertations to be completed in foreign languages if a university’s education program is prepared to be taught also in a foreign language.
Ref: 102.109.109.6547
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May be he will find some Ethiopians or Zimbabweens interested in studies in Latvians Universities.