Student Federation Slams Tallinn's Russian School Plan
The Federation of Student Unions has sharply criticized the Tallinn City Council’s plan to turn the Linnamäe Vene Lütseum into a private school, saying that parents and teachers had been completely left out of the decision-making process.
The city’s move came in light of the three-year transition to 60 percent Estonian-language curriculum imposed on all municipal Russian-language high schools this academic year. In December, the Cabinet turned down pleas by 15 schools in Tallinn and Narva to be exempt from the requirement.
Making the school into a private, municipally-funded institution would be a way to circumvent the rule.
However, a member of the school's community, who wished to remain anonymous, told the federation that no discussions about the city government's plan were held within the school and that staff members only became aware of the idea after it had been made public.
Liina Hirv, vice-chairman of the federation, pointed out that the idea to make the school private was presented at the city council only last week and on March 8 it was already up for a vote - and passed. "It is highly doubtful that during such a short period there has been any dialogue held between the parties involved in the matter, including teachers, students and parents," Hirv said, adding that the decision-making should not remain within such a narrow circle of competence.
Hirv also said that the city is trying to dodge the 60-percent Estonian-language instruction requirement without understanding that the transition is in the interest of high school graduates, giving them better opportunities on the Estonian higher education landscape.
Ingrid Teesalu