RIGA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Latvian lawmakers on Thursday rejected a MP's idea to ban foreign students from doing part-time jobs in the Baltic country.

Janis Dombrava, an MP of the ruling right-wing National Alliance, had proposed to abolish the legislative provision allowing full time students from foreign countries to work for up to 20 hours a week in Latvia.

Arguing for his proposal, Dombrava said that foreign nationals can use studies as a pretext for staying in Latvia and devote most of their time to work while paying at the same time their tuition fees but ignoring studies.

The parliament, however, rejected a proposal to revoke residence permits for those foreign students who fail to show sufficient academic progress and do not complete their studies in due time.

Dombrava also wanted residence permits to be revoked for students who swap study programs or universities, but that proposal did not gain lawmakers' support either.