Minister of Education Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said the situation was better than anticipated. "Results are achieved only when school leaders, teachers, parents, municipalities, and the state work toward a common goal. The inspection shows that Narva schools are steadily moving towards Estonian-language education, and this is today the result of our joint efforts," Kallas said, adding that teachers play a central and valuable role in the transition process.

"It is the teacher, including the subject teacher, who helps the child learn Estonian and use it confidently. This makes it important that teachers are able to apply the integrated content and language learning methodology — which means that language learning takes place together with subject learning, where subject content and language develop hand in hand. It is also important that school leaders support teachers in receiving necessary training and applying new knowledge," the minister went on.

The city's mayor, Katri Raik (SDE), noted the opposite side of the coin, that while Narva teachers who need to take the Estonian language exam are generally doing so, some Estonian speakers who have moved from other parts of the country to teach lack the required pedagogical qualifications, in some cases.

Raik said: "The biggest challenge truly is that our own teachers are taking the Estonian language exam — 46 teachers have registered for the B2 or C1 exam. On the other hand, many people have come from other parts of Estonia, whose methodological skills are lacking and who still need to obtain a master's degree or study pedagogy."

The Ministry of Education and Research conducted a two-month inspection in Narva to assess whether six city-run general education schools had established conditions for transitioning to Estonian-language education. The review focused on 1st and 4th grade instruction, teacher qualifications, and access to required support specialist services. Inspectors visited classrooms, interviewed staff, and reviewed qualifications.

Of 226 observed lessons, only 164 were in Estonian, showing full compliance had not yet been reached. All schools offered Estonian-language after-school and support groups. The report called for more Estonian-language extracurricular activities and stronger cooperation between schools and parents, with schools as the main support contact.

The ministry uses standardized tests to assess the impact of the transition to Estonian-language education by evaluating students' achievement of learning outcomes and readiness for the next school stage, rather than language proficiency.

The move towards Estonian-only education has long been a cherished goal of several political parties, including Reform and Isamaa, while the changed security situation brought the issue even more under the spotlight. Since Narva is mostly Russian speaking, the transition is particularly major there.

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