15.Aprill 2025

Eestikeelsele õppele üleminek vähendab vene koolidesse pürgijate arvu

Transition to Estonian-Language Education Reduces the Number of Applicants to Russian Schools

Eelmisel sügisel algas es üleminek eestikeelsele õppele. Esimesed ja neljandad klassid alustasid õppetööd . Tänavu sügisel liituvad eestikeelse õppega järgmised sama astme klassid. Uus olukord mõjutab vene emakeelega perede koolieelistusi.

Tallinna abilinnapea Aleksei Jašin ütles, et eelmisel aastal suurt vahet koolieelistustes veel näha ei olnud. Täna on olukord teine. Praeguseks on saanud ligi 3200 lapsevanema avalduse. Neist 2265 tahavad lapse kooliks eestikeelset kooli ja 980 varasemat vene kooli, millest nüüd on saanud .

Kui vaadata linnaosade kaupa, siis on selge tendents Haaberstis ja Lasnamäel. Kaks Lasnamäe eestikeelset kooli on väga populaarsed, aga id on kaks aastat järjest taotlusi kaotanud. Haaberstis on kaks eestikeelset kooli järjest rohkem taotlusi saanud ja kaks-kolm i on taotlusi kaotanud.

Taotluste arv idesse on praeguseks 200 õpilase võrra väiksem kui möödunud aastal. Ühelt poolt on demograafiline langus, teiselt poolt on näha, et kahe aasta lõikes on 350 avaldust vähem idesse ja umbes 300 võrra rohkem eesti koolidesse.

Samas oli eelmise nädala seisuga veel 700 esimesse klassi astuja koolieelistuse kohta avaldus linnale esitamata. Linn üritab nende laste vanemaid kätte saada ja nad elukohale lähimasse kooli suunata. Kui 2023. aastal moodustasid esimesse klassi astumise avaldustest 38 protsenti i koha taotlused, siis praeguseks on see protsent vähenenud 30-ni.

Linnavalitsus on avanud neli ülelinnalise vastuvõtuga klassi t rääkivatele lastele. See on vähendanud ide kaotust umbes ühe protsendi võrra. Pikas plaanis tuleb al selle probleemiga tegeleda, et terve rida e kaotab lapsi ja piirkondlikud eestikeelsed koolid on samal ajal ülerahvastatud.

Seega peab üha enam eestikeelseid õpilasi idesse tulema. Sellel aastal peab C1-tasemel eesti keelt valdavaid või eesti emakeelega õpetajaid neisse koolidesse lisanduma. 88 õpetajat, kelle praegune keeletase on B1, said ajapikendust ja peavad sooritama uue eksami augustiks. Kui neil see ei õnnestu, tuleb nende asemele palgata .

Protsess on käimas, et id saavad eestikeelseks. Otsene ruumipuudus on praeguse olukorra tõttu tekkinud ainult ühes Lasnamäe koolis, kuhu on esitatud liiga palju taotlusi. Seda kompenseerib riiklik ja ka linnapoolne palgafondi-, pearahatoetus.

Seni on koolid uue olukorraga väga hästi hakkama saanud. Näiteks Haabersti Järveotsa gümnaasium ning Laagna ja Kuristiku gümnaasium Lasnamäel, kus asjad üha paremini sujuvad. Kuna praegune uue aasta eelarvet kokku ei pane, siis see on juba järgmise e koosseisu arutada.

Kokkuvõtteks peaksid id aja jooksul täiesti eestikeelseks muutuma. Abilinnapea sõnul peaks seda võimalust tutvustama ka lapsevanematele. Näiteks tuleks koolijuhtidel, klassiõpetajatel või eesti keele õpetajatel käia lasteaedades rääkimas, et lapsi i kutsuda.

Tallinna on seadnud sihiks, et ei ületaks seaduses ette nähtud piirarvu, mis on 24. Praeguse seisuga on neli kooli, kus 24 õpilasega klassidesse laste paigutamisega probleem tekib. Ühes neist koolidest otsitakse kooli lähedusse ajutisi lisaruume.

Jašin ei usu, et piisavalt eesti keeld valdavate õpetajate leidmine probleemiks kujuneks. Küll aga teeb muret õpetajakutsega pedagoogide osakaalu langus. Eelmisel aastal olid pooled värvatud õpetajatest ilma kutseta. Kokkuvõttes on as kutsega õpetajate arv langenud ühe protsendi võrra.

Septembriks otsib Tallinn 200 haridustöötajat ehk õpetajat või tugispetsialisti.

Last autumn, the transition to Estonian-language education began in schools with Russian as the language of instruction. First and fourth grades started studying in Estonian. This autumn, the next classes of the same level will join Estonian-language education. The new situation is affecting the school preferences of families with Russian as their mother tongue.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin said that last year there was not yet a significant difference in school preferences. Today, the situation is different. So far, the capital has received nearly 3,200 applications from parents. Of these, 2,265 want their child to attend an Estonian-language school, and 980 want a former Russian school, which has now become a transition school.

If we look at the districts, there is a clear trend in Haabersti and Lasnamäe. Two Estonian-language schools in Lasnamäe are very popular, but transition schools have lost applications for two consecutive years. In Haabersti, two Estonian-language schools have received more applications, while two or three transition schools have lost applications.

The number of applications to transition schools is now 200 students lower than last year. On the one hand, there is a demographic decline, and on the other hand, it is evident that over the past two years, there have been 350 fewer applications to transition schools and about 300 more to Estonian schools.

At the same time, as of last week, there were still 700 applications for first-grade school preferences not submitted to the city. The city is trying to reach the parents of these children and direct them to the nearest school. If in 2023, 38% of first-grade applications were for transition school places, now this percentage has decreased to 30.

The city government has opened four citywide admission classes for children whose mother tongue is Estonian. This has reduced the loss of transition schools by about one percent. In the long term, the capital will have to address this problem, as a whole series of transition schools are losing children, while regional Estonian-language schools are overcrowded.

Therefore, more and more Estonian-speaking students must come to transition schools. This year, teachers with C1-level Estonian or Estonian as their mother tongue must join these schools. 88 teachers whose current language level is B1 have been given an extension and must pass a new exam by August. If they fail, they will be replaced by teachers who speak Estonian.

The process is underway for transition schools to become Estonian-language. Direct space shortages have arisen only in one Lasnamäe school due to the current situation, where too many applications have been submitted. This is compensated by state and city salary funds and basic funding.

So far, schools have coped very well with the new situation. For example, Haabersti Järveotsa Gymnasium and Laagna and Kuristiku Gymnasium in Lasnamäe, where things are going increasingly well. Since the current city government is not compiling the budget for the new year, this will be discussed by the next city government.

In conclusion, transition schools should eventually become fully Estonian-language. According to the deputy mayor, this opportunity should also be introduced to parents. For example, school leaders, class teachers, or Estonian language teachers should visit kindergartens to talk about inviting children to transition schools.

The Tallinn city government has set a goal that the number of students in a class does not exceed the statutory limit of 24. Currently, there are four schools where placing children in classes of 24 students is problematic. In one of these schools, temporary additional spaces near the school are being sought.

Jašin does not believe that finding enough teachers who speak Estonian will become a problem. However, the decline in the proportion of teachers with a teaching qualification is concerning. Last year, half of the recruited teachers were without a qualification. Overall, the number of qualified teachers in the capital has decreased by one percent.

By September, Tallinn is looking for 200 education workers, either teachers or support specialists.