LATGALE REGION - Education, health and culture
Expanding options for young people
In 2002/2003, enrolment in Latgales's educational establishments was 81 082. In 1990, there was only one higher education institution in the region of Latgale - the Daugavpils University. The majority of secondary school graduates in the region continued studies at the higher education institutions of Riga and after graduation did not come back. To attract young people to the Latgale region, the Rezekne Higher School was opened in 1996. Currently the enrolment in both higher education institutions is more than 9 000 students, coming mainly from the schools of Latgale. This number is triple that of the students in 1990.
One of the most noteworthy cultural monuments in the region is the Basilica of Aglona with its monastery buildings, which is the spiritual centre of Catholicism in Latvia. On 15 August each year thousands of people from the whole of Latvia and even from other countries make a pilgrimage to Aglona to celebrate the Ascension Day of the Virgin Mary.
The region's only professional theatre company performs in Daugavpils, but amateur theatre companies are also very active in the region. The most frequently visited museums are the Rezekne Museum of Cultural History of Latgale and the Daugavpils Museum of Regional Studies and Art. Over recent years, due to falling population numbers and increasing activities of the local media, the number of cultural institutions has also declined.
Seven regional TV stations and six radio broadcasting stations operate in the region and 20 newspapers are published.
There were 21 hospitals with 2 897 beds in Latgale, and of these 6 major hospitals (or 72.9% of the total number of beds) were in Daugavpils and Rezekne at the end of 2002. More than half of the region's doctors (62.8%) and medical personnel with professional secondary education (60.6%) work in these cities.
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