Military school plans for Latgale / Article

The premises intended for the future military secondary school, which until recently housed a primary school, are located next to the main building of the Malta Secondary School in the Rēzekne municipality and the recently built sports hall.

Sandra Štekele, deputy head of education at Malta Secondary School, said: “This building is being allocated to Colonel Pēteris Radziņš’ cadet school. The three-storey building will house administrative offices, living quarters and classrooms. The building has been renovated, but cosmetic repairs are needed. We have many buildings. We already have three schools: Malta Secondary School, Malta Music School and Rēzekne Municipal Children and Youth Sports School, and now we will have another institution in another building.”

In order to provide military education opportunities for young people in Latgale, the school is being modelled on the Colonel Oskars Kalpaks Vocational Secondary School in Kandava. As revealed by Colonel Vilis Bauska, project manager for the establishment of the vocational secondary school, the infrastructure of the Malta Secondary School meets all the requirements for such an educational institution. That is why Malta was chosen from among 11 locations in Latgale.

“There is a myth in society that there are many schools in good condition. Even if a school is in good condition, it does not have a canteen. If there is a canteen, there is no staff accommodation. These factors also determined our choice. Of course, we made sure that the classrooms were suitable, as there are four courses, and certain extracurricular activities must also be available, such as a sports hall and a library,” noted Bauska.

At the new school, which is to be named after General Pēteris Radziņš, students will be provided with a scholarship, paid accommodation, four meals a day and the necessary materials.

As Colonel Bauska emphasised, Radziņš Secondary School will in no way displace Malta Secondary School from its premises or take away its teachers; on the contrary, teachers will have the opportunity to work at the vocational secondary school as well. It will be a collaboration, but the vocational secondary school will be a separate institution with its own registration and its own principal. So, in fact, there will be two secondary schools next to each other in Malta.

Bauska said: “The core subjects are natural sciences, social sciences, history, culture, foreign languages and sports. Compulsory subjects will be mathematics, physics, chemistry, Latvian, a foreign language and, of course, at the highest level, mathematics and a foreign language, plus military subjects.”

The new vocational secondary school in Malta, Rēzekne municipality, is scheduled to admit students in the 2026/2027 academic year. Up to 30 students will be admitted to the course in the first academic year. Those who complete the course will be enrolled in the cadet candidate programme of the Latvian National Defence Academy and will also be enrolled in the State Defence Service.

Tell us about a mistake