Appeal to the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia (1st Conference)

I st Conference of Parents of Latvia "To Study in the Native Language"

Riga, November 25, 2000

Address to the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia
On guarantees for education in the native language

Education in one's mother tongue - an inalienable human right, main condition for development of person's thinking and natural abilities, self-confidence, reproduction of one's cultural identity. Exchange of tuition in one's mother tongue with dominant tuition in the Latvian language in schools minorities of of Latvia leads to assimilation of students. The juridical foundation of the school reform - the Law on Education of the Republic of Latvia. The law in unfair and undemocratic. It does not comply with international human rights legislation, in particular to the norms of UNESCO Convention against discrimination in education, the principles of which should be respected by all UN member-states, as well as EU Convention on Protection of National Minorities, signed also by Latvia. While international documents orient states to increase possibilities for national minorities to receive education in their mother tongue, in Latvia the state policy is directed towards decreasing the amount of education in the languages of national minorities, first of all in the Russian language, within the already existing system of education.

Conference demands to ensure for residents of Latvia a democratic choice of the language of tuition for their children in state financed schools - first of all, to guarantee receiving of education in one's mother tongue. Conference demands to stipulate in the legislation of the Republic of Latvia guarantees for national minorities to receive education in the language of national minorities and linguistic minorities of Latvia.

Conference finds it necessary:

1. For the Republic of Latvia to ratify in full amount the CoE Framework Convention on Protection of National Minorities;
2. Adopt a law of the Republic of Latvia on protection of national and linguistic (language) minorities, paying special attention to education in languages of minorities as a mean of protecting language minorities;
3. In the Law on Education of the Republic of Latvia give guarantees for receiving school education (basic, secondary and vocational) in the language of minorities, as well as linguistic minorities of Latvia. In particular;
4. to guarantee the right of receiving basic, secondary and vocational education in the Russian language;
5. to guarantee the right of receiving basic, secondary and vocational education in the languages of minorities, if a sufficient number of persons express a wish for an appropriate education institutions to be established;
6. Exclude from the Law on Education the norm permitting the Ministry of Education and Science to determine subjects tuition of which should be in the Latvian language and give schools the right to determine themselves the subjects to be learned in the Latvian language;
7. Exclude from the Law on Education the demand to start tuition only in the state language from September 1, 2004 in the grade 10 of state secondary general education institutions and secondary education institutions of local governments, as well as on the first course of vocational state institutions and vocational education institutions of local governments;
8. Create in the structure of educational system a Minorities' Education Board. The Head of this Board has to be approved to this position by the Minister of Education and Science upon a recommendation of the Public Consultative Council consisting from representatives of schools administrations, teachers, NGOs, parents and students. The Board has to operate in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science in agreement with the Public Consultative Council.