Estonia will completely abandon Russian schools
Estonia's current ruling coalition, which includes the Center Party, which champions the interests of Russian-speaking residents, is determined to completely transition schools to Estonian-language instruction, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
This was stated today in an interview with the Postimees newspaper by the chairman of the Fatherland party, a member of the coalition, Helir-Valdor Seeder.
“Fatherland has set itself the goal of moving towards full education in Estonian, and this is also the firm intention of today’s government coalition,” he said. “Experts must assess how long it will take, but the transition to education in Estonian will happen in any case.”
Commenting on the statements of Tallinn Mayor Mikhail Kylvart that he intends to protect Russian-language education, Helir-Valdor Seeder indicated that this will not be possible at the state level.
“Mikhail Kõlvart has been trying for years to stop the transition to Estonian-language education in Tallinn,” Seeder said. “In the capital, where the Center Party enjoys autocracy, this was possible. But at the state level, Fatherland, of course, will not allow this. The coalition agreement, in which Mikhail Kõlvart took part in drafting, clearly states the goal: all school teachers in the future will have a good command of the Estonian language.”
On April 6, the Center Party, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia and the Fatherland Party presented a coalition agreement and nominated their candidates for positions in the future government. On April 29, the government led by Center Party leader Jüri Ratas was sworn in.
Estonia will completely abandon Russian schools.