The Peipsi High School, formerly known as the Mustvee Russian High School, has been gradually running out of students for years. The school has a total of 133 students just 22 of whom in the high school grade.

Closing the high school part (grades 10-12) of the school was supported by 12 and opposed by seven council members. A few dozen parents had shown up to what proved a tense council meeting.

"I'm baffled by the municipality's decision to go down the path of destruction. There is a lot of deficiencies, violations and controversy involved. They just closed their eyes and steamrolled the local community. We will be taking this matter to court as we cannot stand for this kind of arbitrary action," parent Anatoli Golts said.

The basic school (grades 1 through 9) part of the school currently uses Russian as its main study language, while 60 percent of material is taught in Estonian and 40 percent in Russian in the high school grades. The plan is to send students of grades 1-9 to the nearby Mustvee School and merge grades 10-12 with the Avinurme High School. Both are fully Estonian-speaking schools.

"Estonian-speaking children won't come to Mustvee because a part of the curriculum is currently taught in Russian. We are in Estonia after all, and we have an Estonian curriculum," Mustvee Municipality Mayor Indrek Kullam said.

"We realize that children must learn Estonian, while it cannot be a case of cold turkey. It is no problem for children who are native Estonian-speakers, but having a Russian-speaking child attend school without them comprehending what they are being taught is rough. It cannot be," Anatoli Golts commented.

The local government is promising a transitional period for Russian-speaking students.

"As concerns the basic school part, we will be teaching students also in their native tongue in parallel classes to make sure students can cope. Those headed for high school have more choice, whether to go to Avinurme High School or find another school more in line with their abilities," Kullam said.

It was said during the council meeting that the local education reform should have happened much sooner at Mustvee. The principal of the Peipsi High School also said the decision was necessary.

"Deciding is better than indecision. The time of high school education in Mustvee has come and gone. It was said here in the council that some things have been postponed for too long. This is one such decision. There were different options for developing high school education here, but the train has left the station now," said Riina Koolmeister, head of the Peipsi High School and Mustvee School.

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