Integration monitor is a daily Latvian press digest on ethnic minority and society integration issues. The Monitor reviews the biggest Latvian dailies: Diena, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga (in Latvian language), Vesti Segodnya (in Russian language). In specific cases other information sources are used. Latvian Centre for Human Rights is not responsible for information published by the media.

• School director criticizes the MEP Karlis Sadurskis statement about transition of all state funded schools into Latvian language only
• Government’s working group will discuss proposals on legal provisions concerning residence permits for foreign investors

Commenting the recent statement of the MEP from Latvia Karlis Sadurskis that education in all state funded schools should be in Latvian language only, director of one of the Riga secondary schools said that such proposal will not save education system in Latvia. The director highlights that there are no Russian language schools in Latvia but ethnic minority schools which bilingually implement licensed and accredited education programs. The director also criticizes Sadurskis’ statement that education system in one language would let to increase teachers’ wages. The director believes that the problems with education system are not caused by expensive bilingual education but by existing management of education policy. The director also believes that now it is more important to decide what to do in order to prevent mass scale immigration of young people from the country. Vesti Segodnya

The government coalition parties decided to establish a working group discussing the proposal of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM to cancel legal provisions on granting residence permits to foreign investors. As other coalition partners do not support the nationalists’ proposal, the working group will try to find compromise proposals.  Vesti Segodnya