VZCZCXYZ0031
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTL #0738/01 3181258
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141258Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0328

UNCLAS TALLINN 000738 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SOCI RS EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIAN SCHOOL REFORM IN ACTION 
 
REF A)05 TALLINN 1152   B)06 TALLINN 418 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  On September 1, 2007, all 58 public 
Russian language high schools in Estonia began teaching 
Estonian Literature in the Estonian language.  This 
program, which affects approximately 8,500 Russian- 
speaking students, is the first step of a gradual 
transition to reach the point where 60 percent of 
classroom instruction in Russian high schools is taught 
in the Estonian language by 2011.  While some members of 
the Russian-speaking community had previously criticized 
the GOE's plan (ref A and B), early assessments indicate 
that implementation is proceeding smoothly.  At the same 
time, the Government of Estonia (GOE) has acknowledged -- 
and is working to address -- several areas of concern, 
such as teacher shortages and lack of resources. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
-------------- 
NOT A NEW IDEA 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Convincing Russian speakers in Estonia to speak 
Estonian is a major political issue and has been for some 
time (Ref A).  Part of the GOE's efforts includes a 
policy of 'transitioning' schools; i.e., persuading 
schools where subjects are taught in the main in Russian 
to accept a program that is predominantly taught in the 
Estonian language.  The Estonian national education 
curriculum has mandated instruction in Estonian language 
courses in primary schools where the language of 
instruction is not Estonian, since 1999.  In addition, 
since 2000, 30 Russian language middle schools (out of a 
total of 58), and 24 Russian language kindergartens (out 
of 70), have joined a voluntary language immersion 
program in which students receive instruction and 
specialized materials on a wide range of subjects in both 
Estonian and Russian. Currently, half of all non-Estonian 
middle schools apply language immersion methods and 
approximately 3,400 Russian speaking students (out of a 
total student population of 33,308), study in special 
language immersion schools and kindergartens. 
 
¶3. (U) Estonia's Parliament adopted the current 
transition program, a component of the 'Basic School and 
Upper Secondary School Act', in 1997 (ref A).  The Act 
envisioned a ten-year preparation period prior to 
implementation of the program.  The National Action Plan 
(NAP), adopted by parliament in March 2006, mapped out 
funding provisions for the transition and a preliminary 
proposal outlining the order in which subsequent subjects 
to be taught in Estonian would be introduced (ref B). 
The NAP only affects instruction at the high school or 
gymnasium level, which is not compulsory in Estonia. 
Students at this level may also choose to attend 
vocational or trade schools, which are not affected by 
the transition program. 
 
¶4. (U) This fall, the MOE updated the instructions 
outlined in the NAP in order to better guide the future 
stages of the transition program.  At the start of the 
school year in September, all 58 public Russian-language 
high schools introduced Estonian literature classes in 
Estonian.  According to the NAP, in the 2008-2009 
academic year, schools must implement a second subject in 
Estonian, either music or civics.  The following year, 
schools must introduce a third course in Estonian (the 
subject they did not choose the previous year.)  In the 
fourth and fifth years of the program, schools will 
introduce Estonian history and world geography in 
Estonian respectively. 
 
----------------------------- 
Creating a sphere of equality 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) According to the MOE and the non-Estonians' 
Integration Foundation, the primary goal of the education 
transition program is to guarantee equal study and 
working opportunities for all graduates of Estonian 
public schools.  All public Estonian universities employ 
Estonian as the language of instruction, and the majority 
of public sector jobs in Estonia require fluency in 
Estonian as a primary qualification.  A basic level 
competency in Estonian is also required in order to 
obtain Estonian citizenship.  Prior to graduating from 
public secondary schools, all non-native Estonian- 
speaking students are required to take an Estonian 
language proficiency exam.  These exams have been 
integrated with the national language proficiency exams. 
Upon graduation, students receive an intermediate level 
proficiency certificate which can be used when applying 
for citizenship. 
 
------------------------ 
The Russian perspective 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (U) An October 2007 poll by Saar, the largest 
marketing research firm in Estonia, showed that two- 
thirds of Russian speakers in Estonia are very concerned 
about introducing Estonian languages classes in high 
schools.  They fear that the overall quality of education 
for Russian speakers will decline and command of the 
Russian language will deteriorate.  Over the course of 
the past year, several articles have appeared in the 
Russian-speaking press criticizing the transition.  Some 
reports suggested that the transition is an attempt to 
'assimilate' rather than 'integrate' Russians.  One 
article said the transition program could create a 
situation in which Russian students graduate with 
inferior skills and are not able to compete with their 
Estonian counterparts in the labor market. The articles 
quoted parents who fear that if their children do choose 
to attend secondary school, they will lose their 
familiarity with both the Russian language and cultural 
identity.  At the same time, they fear their children 
will also receive lower scores than Estonian students in 
subjects taught in Estonian, thereby decreasing their 
competitive edge at the university level (ref A). 
However, despite the rhetoric, there were no reported 
incidents of protest occurring on the first day of 
classes in September. 
 
¶7. (SBU) During a recent meeting, Vadim Vaisiliev, a 
diplomat from the Russian Embassy, told Polecoff that 
some Russian parents have told him they are afraid their 
children will choose to go to vocational school instead 
of secondary school in order to avoid the Estonian 
language requirement.  Vaisiliev noted that during Soviet 
times people could choose their language of school 
instruction, whether it was Russian or Estonian.  He 
commented that Russian speakers will learn Estonia if 
they want to, but he did not see the specific need to 
force instruction in Estonian.  Vaisiliev also commented 
that he thinks the intent of the program is to decrease 
the influence of Russian as opposed to strengthening 
Estonian. 
 
¶8. (U) In contrast, the MOE views the transition program 
as a means of providing Russian-speaking students with 
equal access to Estonia's employment and education 
markets. The NAP currently calls for only one hour of 
instruction a week in Estonian, and has put in place 
measures at the middle school level to ensure students 
possess adequate Estonian language skills prior to 
reaching high school.  At the university level, the GOE 
will pay for one year of Estonian language training for 
students with insufficient knowledge of Estonian. The MOE 
has also publicly recognized the importance of Russian 
language and literature studies and has said that 
instruction in these subject areas will not be reduced. 
 
----------------------- 
Addressing deficiencies 
----------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) According to a 2006 study conducted by the MOE, 
the availability of high quality study materials 
(textbooks and supplemental texts) used by Russian 
schools is a priority concern.  Under the NAP, the MOE is 
supposed to provide high school students affected by the 
transition program with free textbooks with companion CDs 
and dictionaries.  The MOE has also formed a council of 
master teachers which is in charge of preparing all 
transition teaching materials.  The NAP also allocates 
funds dedicated to updating teaching materials for native 
Russian speakers (ref B). 
 
¶10. (U) Officials at the MOE and in the Ministry of 
Population Affairs remain concerned, however, about the 
use of 'unofficial' instructional materials by teachers 
in the Russian schools ' including Russian Federation- 
produced textbooks and news reports.  There are many 
reports that teachers use these materials to supplement, 
replace and/or contradict official texts.  However, as 
one official told us, the MOE does not have the resources 
to 'monitor what is going on in every classroom in 
Estonia,' and so must 'trust their instructors to use the 
proper texts.' 
 
¶11. (U) Both the MOE and the non-Estonian Integration 
Foundation are concerned that there will not be enough 
qualified teachers to teach the additional Estonian- 
language classes each year.  Extremely low salaries and a 
lack of prestige associated with the teaching profession 
are both major factors contributing to the problem. 
Currently, the average teacher's salary in Estonia is 
8,260 eek a month.  MOE has proposed several initiatives 
intended to attract teachers to critical shortage areas 
(including Narva where 98 percent of the population 
speaks Russian and it is very difficult to find teachers 
who speak Estonian).  Teachers willing to work in 'high 
needs' schools outside of Tartu and Tallinn and who 
pledge a five-year commitment will receive an additional 
200,000 eek (just over USD 19,000). Teachers who resign 
before the contract expires will be required to pay back 
a percentage of the money.  In July 2007, the Vice 
Chancellor of the MOE announced that Russian language 
schools will also received an additional 70,000 eek 
(6,500 USD) for each subject they offer in Estonian 
beyond what is required by the NAP.  Individual school 
principals will have discretion concerning how to 
distribute the money, but it is expected that it will be 
used primarily to increase the salaries of Russian- and 
Estonian-language teachers.  (A representative from the 
MOE was quick to point out to polecoff that the MOE 
realizes the importance of supporting Russian-language 
teachers during this transition as well). 
 
¶12. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite earlier criticism from the 
Russian-speaking community and press outlets during the 
planning stages of the language transition project, it is 
striking how little controversy has surrounded the actual 
implementation.  This may in fact mean that schools were 
well prepared and students and parents were more 
accepting of the transition once they had an opportunity 
to observe it in practice. Officials from the MOE state 
that it is too early to measure the success of the 
transition program.  However, there are plans to initiate 
a counseling process with individual schools and prepare 
a questionnaire for 10th graders concerning attitudes 
towards the transition and quality of materials provided. 
Teachers, parents and principals will also participate in 
the discussion.  Post will continue to follow and report 
on developments in this area. End Comment. 
 
PHILLIPS