While there should be enough teachers to go round at schools transitioning to Estonian language instruction, and away from the Russian language, for the next academic year, concerns linger about the future.

A total of 46 teachers took the Estonian language exam in March, a figure Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said she found somewhat disappointing.

Expectations had been higher, since there are many more teachers who need to achieve B2 to C1 level proficiency in the Common European Framework (CEF).

At the same time, this will not cause any serious disruption in the immediate term, the minister said.

"For the transition classes or those classes which are starting instruction in Estonian, we do not see major issues, and school authorities have also confirmed that the missing teachers will be found," Kallas said.

However, Kallas noted that a bigger issue lies with teachers who are, by agreement, continuing to teach in Russian in the mean time, and will eventually make the switch to Estonian too.

"They have three more years to teach subjects in Russian, yet generally they have not yet passed the B2 level language exam," the minister went on.

The figure for this group is put at around 500 nationwide, with the bulk of them in Tallinn (212 teachers) and Narva (110 staff).

Since it is thought to be unlikely that all these teachers will pass the required language exam, new teachers need to be recruited – and it is this which has proven difficult, if the requirement remains that they be able to teach in Russian in the interim period too.

Narva Mayor Jaan Toots (Center) said: It is hard to find replacements, and it raises the question: If we bring in teachers who can speak Estonian at C1 or B2 levels but do not speak Russian, how will they teach the children in Russian? Thus means a compromise must be found."

The issue is further clouded by school leaders in Narva at least sometimes not meeting language requirements themselves.

The education minister said that among other things, these leaders may not even know a C1-level teacher when they see one.

"If a school leader's language level is A2, then it's hard to say they are capable of recruiting teachers at C1 proficiency. The City of Narva has been instructed to dismiss and replace those school leaders who do not meet the language requirements," Kallas said.

"There has been a lack of political will to do this in Narva," Kallas added, noting that these school leaders are often city council deputies.

Meanwhile in Tallinn, Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) said efforts to boost teacher recruitment are focused mainly in two areas.

First, special recruitment support is offered to schools; second, a desire to increase teacher wages is present, he said.

"This gives school leaders the opportunity to offer a slightly higher wage or additional pay for these very needed positions, depending on the situation in each school. And this measure is based on the number of multilingual students who will be studying in Estonian," Jašin said.

The government says it plans to discuss the issue in early July, after all the language exam dates for this year are over and the situation ahead of the 2024-2025 academic year becomes clearer.

The CEF is split into six levels, A1/A2 (beginners, B1/B2 (intermediate) and C1/C2 (proficiency). Those who pass any of the level exams in Estonia are usually presented with a certificate which they can produce as proof of level.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!