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Education in Latvia

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Compulsory education in Latvia lasts for 9 years and schooling starts at the age of 7. The country has recorded a very high literacy rate of 99.7% even though the government places not enough budgets on the education sector. Schools are both public and private and are of different types: general schools, trade schools, technical schools, and specialized schools.

Basic education lasts for 9 years which is divided into two parts: the elementary level which is for 4 years and the primary level which is for 5 years. During the 9 years of basic education, students are taught mathematics, social science, Latvian language, music, visual arts, domestic science and sports. Other subjects are taught depending on the grade level. Natural science is taught from grades 1 to 6. Literature is taught from 4th grade onwards, history from 6th grade onwards, biology and geography from 7th grade onwards, and physics and chemistry from 8th grade onwards. Ethics or Christian education (chosen by the student) is taught from 1st to 3rd grade. The first foreign language is taught at 3rd grade while the second is taught at 6th grade. After completing the 9 years of basic education, students may proceed to secondary school or to vocational schools.

General secondary education lasts for 3 years and has 4 educational programs: vocational program; humanities and social sciences program; comprehensive education program; and mathematics, natural science, and technical science program. However, there are 7 compulsory subjects for all of the programs, namely: mathematics, history, sports, basic economics, basic science, 1 foreign language, and Latvian language and literature.

Higher education can be academic or professional. The 2 major universities in the country are the University of Latvia and the Riga Technical University.