Gymnasium Director: Lax Alcohol Consumption Law Goes Against School's Values
Public alcoholic consumption will be legal in Estonia from July 1 following Parliament's passage of amendments to the Law Enforcement Act. The reaction has not been all positive, though.
Director of Gustav Adolf Gymnasium Hendrik Agur says he does not support the changes, which were actually passed in February but which due to a reporter's mistake became a major issue just today. "If I look at it from the point of view of a school director, I don't think it good, because the values that Parliament is adopting with this amendment are not the ones we try to instil in school every day," Agur said on Vikerraadio.
He said that schools engage in prevention work among youth and instill values so that children would grow up with healthy lifestyles.
Although he said he was not against the "moderate, cultured" consumption of alcohol, Agur said it was a foregone conclusion that responsible behavior would fall by the wayside once people started drinking in public.
"I think the view on the streets will start changing significantly and this is not something to be welcomed," he said.