There will be no Russian-language schools in Estonia by 2035 
The Estonian Ministry of Education has presented a plan for the complete de-Russification of schools in the country. It is reported by “Sputnik Near Abroad”.
According to the plan, there will be no Russian-language schools in the country by 2035. In all state-funded schools, instruction will be conducted only in Estonian. The deputies of parliament from the Center Party spoke out against the forced transition.
However, according to the Minister of Education of Estonia Liina Kersna, there is still an unresolved problem with teachers. “We now have over 3,000 teachers whose level of language proficiency does not meet the requirements. They are sent to courses, but only two to five percent of teachers complete the courses and receive the required level of language proficiency, “she said.
Earlier, President of Estonia Alar Karis said that the refusal to teach in Russian in schools Estonia is impossible. The head of state also criticized the idea of making only Estonian-language higher education free of charge. According to him, such actions will “smell a little of discrimination.” At the same time, Karis stressed that the language still remains a significant factor in the split in society.
Almost 30 percent of Estonian residents consider Russian as their mother tongue. The Russian-speaking population lives in almost all regions of Estonia, but their concentration is highest in the north-east of the country and in the south-east of Tallinn. At the moment, there are 74 Russian schools in Estonia, where you can get education partially in Russian. The number of subjects taught in such schools in Russian does not exceed 60 percent.