January 19th. 2024 HTM – Comment on the article
Today, January 19, Minister of Education and Science Kristina Kallas met with Narva Mayor Jaan Toots to talk about the municipality’s preparations for the transition to Estonian language education.
Kristina Callas During the meeting they emphasized that the transition to Estonian language education everywhere in Estonia is certain and that there will be no extension of time. “Narva, together with the rest of Estonia, is moving towards Estonian language education according to the same program and under the same conditions. This clear message must be conveyed by the local government, as a school leader, to the leaders of their educational institutions “, said the minister.
According to Kallas, to implement the reform it is necessary to increase the volume of Estonian education at all educational levels and ensure the availability of education workers with the necessary Estonian language skills. “Today, 175 educators actively participate in language studies in Narva. Furthermore, with the support of Narva College, we offer training to support teachers in preparing for the transition to Estonian language education.”
Also important is the quality of management, which must encourage teachers to participate in language learning and improvement. “The working environment of the school and kindergarten must be supportive, and leaders here have a great responsibility to set an example with good language skills and support their teachers in this process,” Kallas said.
During the meeting, Minister Kristina Kallas also raised the issue of the organization of the school network. According to him, it is possible to support the continuous improvement of the school network of the city of Narva with the funds from the new incentive period. “The number of births has decreased significantly and the school network must adapt to the changed circumstances. This allows investing in teachers and teaching instead of keeping school buildings half-empty. The Ministry’s proposal concerns the merger of three schools in the city of Narva and the construction of a new school building, as well as the transfer of the management of the Narva Adult School to the state,” the minister said. To accept the proposal, the Narva city administration will have to submit the materials to the municipality by March.
The transition to Estonian language education will begin in kindergartens and in 1st and 4th grades from September 1 this year and will last until 2030 under the coalition agreement.
Views: 3
2024-01-19 16:19:52
minister-kristina-kallas-there-will-be-no-time-extensions-for-the-transition-to-estonian-language-education