New Narva college turns into joint venture between schools, ministry
The Academy of Security Sciences, the University of Tartu, and the Ministry of the Interior have signed an agreement on the construction of a new college in Narva. The facilities will cover room for studies and training as well as accommodation.
The college is to be built on a plot that currently belongs to the University of Tartu in Narva’s Kerese Street.
The three parties’ signing the agreement is the latest step towards the relocation of part of the Academy of Security Sciences to Narva, following an intense debate about whether or not to move the bulk of the academy east, away from its main campus in Tallinn.
The eventual decision was to leave the school where it is, and instead build a training base in Narva. By now the University of Tartu has joined in; the two schools will run the college together.
According to the current plans, the University of Tartu will accommodate students of its existing Narva college on the new premises. The Academy of Security Sciences will have study and training facilities as well as rooms to accommodate cadets—all of them will be available to and used by the Police and Border Guard as well.
The college’s sports center as well as a planned swimming pool will be open to the residents of Narva as well.
The competition for a design for the new college’s buildings was announced for August. “If everything goes according to plan, then we can start working on the project already this year. Ideally we’d then lay the cornerstone in spring next year, and open the new center in 2020,” the academy’s rector, Katri Raik, said.
The government decided on Mar. 30 this year to allocate €12.8 million for the new college.
There have been unsuccessful talks with the city of Narva’s local council about sharing the cost of the swimming pool. The idea was to double its number of lanes to accommodate more local visitors, but the latest word from Narva was that its Center Party politicians instead decided to try and get help from their party colleagues in the government to build a swimming pool of their own.
Editor: Dario Cavegn