Security academy chief: lack of Russian language, not Estonian skills the problem
Katri Raik, rector of the Academy of Security Sciences, said fresh ethnic Russians students have few problems with the required level of the Estonian language and the problem lies in Estonians not being able to speak enough Russian.
“Young Russians, who I have met at the Academy of Security Sciences, speak decent Estonian. But young Estonians do not speak Russian: not enough for cadets, not enough for prison wardens,” she said in front of the Parliament.
Speaking at a debate on the impact of integration on security, Raik said only 50 percent of Russians carry on to study at the higher-eductaion level, while that figure is 70 percent for Estonians.
“Estonia is such a small country that if everyone does one good deed each month for young Estonian-Russians, then Estonia becomes better,” she said, adding that a third of applications to study at the academy come from Russian-language schools, while only one in ten of the students are from such schools. She added that some do not turn up for the final tests as they lack confidence and self-belief.
Editor: J.M. Laats