TALLINN - Russian-speaking students returned to school on Sept. 3 to face new Estonian-language classes as part of a gradual reform of the education system.
But education authorities were quick to point out that the reforms were far from a broad scale imposition of the Estonian language upon the Russian minority. They amount to a mere one hour of tuition per week, affect just 34 schools, and are only applied to students in the tenth grade.
By the year 2011, 60 percent of tenth-grade subjects at Russian-language schools will be delivered in Estonian. The reform will be introduced gradually subject-by-subject, beginning this year with a course in Estonian literature.
The changes failed to spark widespread outrage, as occurred in Latvia three years ago when similar reforms were attempted. However, there were still voices of dissent. At a introduction ceremony at a school in the border town of Narva, the Russian consul-general Nikolai Bondarenko told students they should hold to their language.
"Though it's important that students learn Estonian, it's very important that they do not forget to learn Russian, their original mother-tongue," Bondarenko said, quoted by AP.
Irene Kaosaar, head of Ministry of Education's Minorities Education Department, said she was optimistic that the Russian community understood the need to teach young people Estonian. The tertiary education prospects of young people depended on their ability to grasp Estonian, as there are very few university courses delivered in Russian, she said.
"I feel that during the last weeks the Russian community in Estonia is more understanding than maybe a year ago. I am an idealist, but I hope soon we can have one Estonian society with two or three parts together," Kaosaar said.
During the summer 40 teachers attended special training courses at the University of Tallinn to help them prepare for the changes.
Schools have been equipped with textbooks and audio guides that help teach the subject "as a second language," and teachers were instructed how to help young people tackle the work in a foreign tongue.
But the change should not come as a huge shock for many students. Estonian is taught from the first grade, with between three to four hours of language tuition per week up until the ninth grade. Many schools 's including those in the heavily Russian-populated areas of Narva and Kohtla-Jarve 's also offer immersion classes in certain subjects.
The change will only affect 34 of Estonia's 63 Russian schools, as 29 of them already deliver the Estonian literature subject in its native language. The country's five private Russian schools have also signed up for the reforms voluntarily.
"Estonian literature is just one of nine parts of the literature course. It consists of 35 hours' tuition. This means that in this school year in the tenth grade, we have only one hour of Estonian literature studies each week. It's not a big change, but it is the first step," Kaosaar said.
Meanwhile, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves used his "Knowledge Day" address at the start of the school year to call on the country to fight the culture of traffic hooliganism.
"Unfortunately it seems to me that many adults should sit at the school desks instead of children.," Ilves said. "What is taking place in our traffic is passing the limits of tolerance. Disregard for oneself and others, speeding, driving under the influence and without a safety belt fastened sow death and suffering in our roads at an ever increasing pace."
Ilves pointed out that more than 4,000 people had been killed in traffic accidents in the 16 years of independence 's a figure equivalent to the entire population of the town of Poltsamaa.
"Hundreds of children have lost one or both parents. An unbearably large number of children are being treated for injuries sustained in traffic accidents instead of going to school."
He appealed to drivers to slow down, and called on citizens to "fight against traffic hooligans and potential murderers."
His comments were echoed by road toll figures for August showing that 31 people were killed 's one for each day of the month.
