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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTL #0388/01 3101434
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051434Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0909
INFO RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 3006
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 6752
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2630

UNCLAS TALLINN 000388 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV EN
 
SUBJECT: ESTONIA:  RUSSIAN SCHOOLS INCREASE COURSES 
TAUGHT IN ESTONIAN 
 
REF: 07 TALLINN 738 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The government's plan to achieve more 
Estonian-language instruction in Russian-language high 
schools has proceeded smoothly in Estonia.  In 
September, Russian-language high schools began teaching 
the second of five (mandated) courses in Estonian. 
There are indications that a majority of Russian- 
speakers not only see value in the transition program, 
but want schools to begin introducing more Estonian 
instruction earlier.  Despite the success of the school 
program, language in Estonia remains a sensitive 
political issue.  End Summary. 
 
School Transition Program Makes Progress 
 
¶2. (U) In September 2008, Estonia's Russian-language 
high schools began implementing the second phase of the 
Government of Estonia's (GOE) 5-year program to 
increase Estonian-language instruction.  This year, 
schools had the choice of adding civics or music to the 
curriculum, following the introduction of Estonian 
literature classes in September 2007.  The end goal of 
the transition program is for all 58 Russian-language 
public high schools to teach at least 5 courses (60 
percent of their total course load) in Estonian by the 
year 2011. 
 
¶3. (U) Many schools are ahead of schedule.  In addition 
to the required civics/music course, 41 of the Russian 
schools also added one or more extra courses taught in 
Estonian this year (including physical education, human 
nature, history and geography).  As part of a GOE 
incentive program, the schools receive USD 7,000 for 
each additional course they implement (above the 
mandated number).  According to the Ministry of 
Education and Research (MOER), the schools use the 
extra funds to pay supplemental allowances to teachers 
of Estonian, buy training materials and fund extra- 
curricular activities. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The GOE considers the school transition 
program a critical component of its 2008-2013 
integration strategy for Russian speakers.  A basic 
level of Estonian is required for acquiring citizenship 
(although only about 3 percent of Estonia's 111,000 
stateless are under the age of 15).  More importantly, 
improving Estonian language skills is viewed as 
critical for social, political and economic cohesion in 
Estonia.  The working language of public universities 
is Estonian and the majority of public sector jobs 
require fluency in Estonian as a primary qualification. 
People who lack proficiency in Estonian inherently face 
more limited economic opportunities than the rest of 
the population.  Also, as a whole, Russian speakers in 
Estonia still get most of their news and information 
from Russian-language television news broadcasts, the 
vast majority of which are produced in Russia.  This 
has resulted in two distinct information spheres in 
Estonia - reflected, for example, in widely divergent 
opinions among ethnic Estonians and ethnic Russians on 
the Russian invasion of Georgia.  The GOE hopes that as 
more Russian speakers learn Estonian, their interest in 
watching Estonian-language media broadcasts will 
increase. 
 
Language Still a Sensitive Issue 
 
¶5. (SBU) As reported reftel, in 2007 there were 
concerns that Russian-speaking Estonians would oppose 
the school transition program.  Many in the Russian- 
speaking community voiced fears that the real goal of 
the transition program was to assimilate Russian 
speakers into Estonian society and undermine the 
importance of Russian language and culture. However, as 
the transition program enters its second year, it 
appears that these fears have not translated into 
significant organized opposition.  In fact, there are 
indications that a growing number of Russian speakers 
view the school program positively.  At an assembly of 
student representatives of Russian-language schools in 
January this year, many participants said they want to 
begin studying new subjects in Estonian even before the 
tenth grade.  They complained that the basic level of 
Estonian instruction at lower grades does not prepare 
them to successfully master subjects in Estonian in 
high school.  The GOE responded quickly to the 
 
 
criticism passing a regulation requiring kindergartens 
to begin Estonian language instruction at an earlier 
age (3 years old instead of 5 or 6).  The regulation 
came into force on September 1, 2008. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Earlier this year, approximately one thousand 
Russian-speaking permanent residents of Estonia 
(including 200 parents of children in Russian-language 
schools) participated in a survey commissioned by the 
MOER and carried out by Estonia's largest marketing 
research firm.  The results indicated higher-than 
anticipated support for increasing Estonian instruction 
in Russian schools.  The majority of participants 
indicated they are familiar with the school language 
transition program and most said they view it 
positively.  More than 80 percent of the respondents 
said they believe the additional coursework in Estonian 
will improve their language skills and increase their 
competitiveness in the labor market. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Organized opposition to the transition program 
has not materialized in Narva or Tallinn, the two 
cities with the highest proportion of Russian speakers 
in Estonia (98 percent and 46 percent respectively). 
In Tartu, however, parents have established an NGO 
(called Russian School) which is actively lobbying to 
keep the curriculum of Tartu's Russian high school 
taught entirely in Russian.  Taking a proactive 
approach, the MOER has reached out to the group, 
meeting with the parents and school administrators to 
discuss their concerns.  Meanwhile, the school in Tartu 
has introduced the two required Estonian courses 
according to schedule.  (Note:  Approximately 17 
percent of the population in Tartu is Russian-speaking. 
There are only two Russian-language high schools in the 
city, one of which is a language immersion school.  End 
Note.) 
 
¶8. (SBU) Still, language remains a sensitive political 
issue in Estonia.  Just over 50 percent of the 
respondents in the survey (para 6) also expressed 
concern that Estonian-language studies will endanger 
the survival of Russian language and culture in 
Estonian.  Recent comments by Minister of Education 
Tonis Lukas that he "did not oppose" a proposal to 
begin Estonian-only education for all students at the 
Kindergarten level reignited heated debate among 
politicians on the issue in the press.  Member of 
Parliament Peter Kreitzberg responded with an OpEd 
explaining why Estonia must keep Russian language 
instruction and preserve minority culture.  (Note: 
Kreitzberg is a former Minister of Education.  He is 
not in the same party as Lukas, but both are members of 
the ruling coalition.  End Note).  Katri Raik, Deputy 
Secretary General for General and Vocational Education 
at the MOER told PolEcon Chief that Minister Lukas' 
comments, were "taken out of context," but had created 
a "difficult situation for the Ministry."  Regardless, 
Raik noted, the Estonian Constitution guarantees 
minorities the right to choose the language of 
instruction in schools and the Minister did not intend 
to contradict that principle. 
 
Challenges Ahead 
 
¶9. (SBU) An ongoing challenge for implementation of the 
transition program is ensuring there are enough well- 
trained teachers in the Russian schools who can teach 
the required subjects in Estonian.  The need for 
teachers is particularly acute in eastern Estonia. (In 
the city of Narva on the border with Russia, where 98 
percent of the population speaks Russian, it has been 
more difficult to recruit teachers qualified to 
instruct in Estonian.)  Recognizing this, the MOER has 
created a number of incentive programs to hire new 
teachers and retrain the existing staff.  One such 
program, initiated in 2007, encourages graduate 
students to do a student teaching practicum in schools 
in eastern Estonia.  Last year, 11 graduate students 
participated in the program; four of which remained in 
the region as teachers after graduation.  The MOER is 
also using co-funding from the European Social Fund to 
provide in-service and other training for teachers at 
the Russian schools.  The trainings, conducted in 
coordination with Tallinn University, Tartu University 
and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater, cover 
course-specific materials (e.g. music, geography etc) 
 
as well as bilingual teaching skills. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The MOER concedes that the addition of a 
history course taught in Estonian at the start of the 
2010/2011 school year will also be a significant 
challenge.  Interpretation of history (Russian 
occupation versus liberation of Estonia during WWII) 
remains one of the most controversial and complicated 
issues between Estonia's ethnic Estonian and ethnic 
Russian communities.  The MOER produces history 
materials in both Estonian and Russian for use in all 
schools.  However, Raik pointed out, it is difficult to 
change teachers "personal perspective" on history.  The 
MOER is working to establish a unified association of 
Estonian- and Russian-language history teachers.  Raik 
said the goal is to give all history teachers a forum 
to ask questions and discuss their points of view.  The 
MOER also plans to open counseling centers in four 
cities, Narva, Kohtla-Jarve, Tallinn and Tartu in 
November 2008.  Counselors will make regular visits to 
schools - to monitor course content, ensure courses are 
being taught in Estonian as required, and advise 
teachers. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment:  Language has been a core component 
of the GOE's integration strategy since the first 
integration program was launched in 2000.  Progress on 
implementing the school transition program and the 
positive response of students is encouraging.  However, 
the Bronze Soldier riots in 2007 made clear that 
language alone will not bridge the political divide 
between Russian and Estonian speakers here.  In 
particular, continued outreach in Russian is critically 
important.  Russian speakers still get much of their 
news and information from media outlets originating 
from within Russia that most consider to be biased 
toward Moscow's point of view.  The GOE has recognized 
the need to increase Russian-language news programming, 
and in fact has recently hired a new director to their 
Russian-language television broadcasting service. 
However, many would agree that the GOE has not 
dedicated enough resources nor attention to this task. 
Declining economic growth and a tight budget make it 
unlikely this will change in the short to medium-term. 
End Comment. 
 
Phillips