More than half of Pärnu teachers also planning to strike
More than half the teachers in Pärnu's general education schools are planning to join next week's strike. During the strike, work in the schools will be organized in different ways.
There are a total of 14 general education schools in the city of Pärnu, 13 of which are participating in the strike. According to Ene Tähe, deputy mayor of Pärnu, how long the strike will end up lasting remains unknown. Some schools have said they will strike for a few days, while others say they will strike indefinitely. During the strike, schools in the city will be organized in different ways.
"The first and best place for parents to get the most accurate information is from their educational institution, because it is they who have this information and know how the work in this educational institution has been reorganized," said Ene Täht, deputy mayor of Pärnu.
Almost all the teachers at Pärnu Mai School are planning to join the strike.
"There are 74 teachers in our school, 72 of whom are participating in the strike. We have 836 students and during the strike the work will be organized by the management," said Kai Mitt, teacher and strike leader at Pärnu Mai School.
According to the school's headteacher Silja Kikerpill, there will be no classes there during the strike.
"The school doors will be open and the library is open. The whole team, from the management side, from the headteachers to the heads of the departments are helping because the children are not coming to school and the teachers are not coming to school," said Kikerpill.
According to Hanna-Liisa Ott, the strike leader at Pärnu Old Town Elementary School, the majority of the school's 55 teachers are set to join the strike.
Headteacher Pille Tahker said that while classes for children in grades 5 to 9 would be organized during the strike, classes for those in the lower grades will not.
"We have asked parents of pupils in grades 1-4 to leave their children at home during the strike if possible, because we can provide supervision but not supervised teaching," Tahker said.
The principal of Pärnu Old Town Elementary School hopes an agreement can be reached and that Monday will end up being another regular school day.
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Editor: Michael Cole
