Latvian parliament passes watered-down bill on teaching morality in schools

Latvian parliamentarians on Thursday passed a watered-down version of a bill on teaching morality in schools, the local media reported.

The draft legislation, originally proposed by an MP of the leftist Harmony party, triggered a heated debate in Latvian political circles and society at large.

The initiative gained the support of the right-wing National Alliance and Latvia's largest religious groups, but drew criticism from Education and Science Minister Marite Seile, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and nongovernmental organizations promoting family planning and sexual education.

The parliament only supported the part of the bill stipulating that the "education system ensures students' moral education in accordance with the values included in and protected by the Latvian Constitution, particularly marriage and family."

The part of the bill that would have banned schools from using or spreading "teaching aids and other materials that can have a negative effect on students' moral development" was dropped.

Critics of the legislation argued that the draft legislation did not provide an exact definition of morality and that its broad interpretations could lead to serious problems.

Edvars Smiltens, an MP of the ruling centre-right Unity party, said at Thursday's parliament session that "using abstract terms like 'morality' in the law without providing a more detailed explanation about their application might cause a great headache to thousands of teachers and school principals." Endit