This summer, Riga conducted its first fully digital enrollment for 10th grades in municipal secondary schools. Applications could be submitted through the Latvija.gov.lv portal, and the allocation of places occurred in a unified centralized system, writes Diena. According to participants in the process, the new model significantly simplified the admission process and allowed for quicker distribution of graduates from basic schools to educational institutions. This year, it was planned to open 10th grades in 54 secondary schools in the capital, including six state gymnasiums. A total of about 4,500 study places were provided. The application period ran from June 27 to July 1. During this time, 5,332 graduates submitted 41,581 applications — on average, each chose about seven schools to increase their chances of admission. The main feature of the new system was the automatic allocation of places. Starting July 2, applicants began receiving invitations to schools via the Latvija.gov.lv portal or by email if the application was submitted in person through the customer service center. After receiving an offer, families had 72 hours to make a decision. If a student accepted a place in one of their chosen schools, the system automatically released their positions in schools with lower priority, and the vacated spot immediately went to the next candidate. At the same time, the opportunity to enter a school that was higher on the preference list remained. If a spot later opened up there, the student could receive a new invitation and transfer to a more desirable educational institution. This mechanism helped avoid situations where places remained "reserved" for a long time while families made decisions, and made the entire admission process significantly faster. Vilnis Kirsis, Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council, noted that the system successfully handled the load and that there were no serious technical problems during the enrollment. According to him, the owner of the digital platform is the Ministry of Education and Science, but the development of the platform also involved contributions from the Riga municipality. Initially, the capital planned to implement its own system, but ultimately the parties combined their efforts. Now, other municipalities will also be able to use this platform. Although it will become mandatory across Latvia only from March 1, 2028, Vilnis Kirsis urged municipalities not to delay the transition and to start using the new system in the coming years.
