Kohtla-Järve school switching to Estonian before deadline

One school in the Ida-Viru County town of Kohtla-Järve is making the transition to education in Estonia ahead of schedule, "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Sunday.
The town of around 35,000 inhabitants has five basic schools (Põhikool), the mandatory phase of primary and secondary education in Estonia, but the Maleva Põhikool is the only one currently ahead of the curve in transitioning to Estonian-only, or at least predominantly Estonian, education.
The school has 580 students enrolled, of whom only 34 are native Estonian speakers, AK reported.
Some teaching will still be conducted in Russian nonetheless, particularly for more senior pupils.
School director Eva Adamson said: "Some subjects will remain in Russian: Mathematics, physics, and chemistry for grades 7 to 9—subjects that students currently find more challenging."
"However, starting from grade 5, history and social studies will be taught in Estonian only, and we will take it from there," she added.
The school's governing board said it also supported the fast-tracked transition to Estonian-language education.
School board chair Tiit Lillemets said: "There were lengthy discussions at the governing board. We discussed the topic for nearly two hours, and ultimately, it was decided that the sooner we switch to Estonian, the better."
The transition to predominantly Estonian-language instruction was made easier for Maleva Põhikool by its decades-long status as a bilingual school, and school director Eva Adamson says she does not believe that Russian-speaking youths will start switching schools this late in the day.
"Seventy-five percent of our students already study in Estonian, with 50 percent in immersion classes, meaning their language of instruction is Estonian. Also, from our Russian-language classes, grades 1 and 2 already largely study in Estonian," she added.
"I don't believe we'll see many students leaving because the language of instruction is changing."
Starting from the new academic year in September, Russian-language schools are required to switch to Estonian-language instruction for grades 1 and 4. The remaining classes can continue in Russian pending municipal approval.
Most schools in Estonia are municipality-run, with the several new state high schools (Riigigümnaasium) and various private schools being the notable exceptions.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael