For a long time, PROVIDUS has drawn attention to the need to ensure the quality and continuity of publicly funded language learning services. In this context, the need for a unified integration strategy has been highlighted, noting that the existing regulatory approach is uneven and can create unequal and difficult access to services for different groups of newcomers. This conclusion can also be applied to the current publicly funded Latvian language learning system, which is characterized by pronounced fragmentation, with language learning services being provided by various involved parties, without consistent mutual coordination.
From March to July of 2026, data was collected on publicly funded Latvian language Latvian language courses, requesting data from the SIF, NVA, KM, and the municipalities. The aim of the study is to identify and compile the available data on publicly funded Latvian language courses in the context of costs, accessibility, and effectiveness, thereby promoting a data-driven decision-making process.
The main conclusions of the research are related to the need for improvements both in defining and achieving integration outcomes, and in ensuring course completion, potentially reducing drop-out and promoting the passing of the State Language Proficiency Exam (SLPE).
From the perspective of integration outcomes, the approximate use of public funding at the national level, amounting to 9.2 million EUR, provides identifiable integration outcomes (the opportunity to enter the labor market in accordance with the regulations on state language proficiency requirements, by successfully passing the SLPE) for slightly more than two thousand people in the 2024–2025 period.
The Latvian language learning system currently is more of a crisis-response framework, than as a response to long-term migration trends. The structure of funding and course availability has mainly been shaped in response to the needs of Ukrainian civilians. Such a funding model, without clearly defined priorities, creates risks of unequal integration opportunities for different groups of newcomers. Taking into account migration dynamics, the public system covers approximately one-third of the actual demand for Latvian language learning.
Study “Latvian Language Learning Services: Costs, Accessibility and Effectiveness” is available here.