RIGA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Latvian lawmakers on Thursday passed in the final reading two bills providing for ethnic minority schools' gradual transition to education almost only in Latvian.
In line with the amendments adopted to the Education Law and Comprehensive Education Law, the switch to Latvian as the sole language of teaching has to be completed by the academic year 2021/2022.
The reform, initiated by Latvian Education and Science Minister Karlis Sadurskis of the ruling center-right Unity party, has been hotly debated in parliament and triggered a string of mass protests led by advocates of Latvia's Russian schools, particularly the Russian Union of Latvia.
Igors Pimenovs, an MP of the opposition leftist Harmony party, argued in parliament for Russian-speaking children's rights to education in their native language. "To a great extent, the stability of the Latvian state and the situation of the Latvian language depend on the ethnic minorities' future," Pimenovs said.
The opposition lawmaker said after the parliament session that Harmony was considering asking Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis not to sign the language reform bills into law.
Andris Morozovs, an MP of the Harmony faction, worried that the reform would amount to the abolition of minority schools in Latvia.
However, Hossams Abu Meri, an MP representing Unity, said that the language reform would consolidate Latvia's society.
It was echoed by Raivis Dzintars, an MP of the ruling rightist National Alliance, saying that the "Latvian language belongs not only to the Latvian people" and that it should not be perceived as a threat to ethnic minorities.
After the reform, the proportion of subjects taught in Latvian in ethnic minority schools will have to reach at least 50 percent in grades 1 to 6; 80 percent in grades 7 to 9 and 100 percent in grades 10 to 12. The schools will still be able to teach the language, literature, as well as culture and history-related subjects in the minorities' native languages.