Fifth of Ida-Viru vocational school students fail to show up for Estonian lessons
About one-fifth of students enrolled in Estonian-language courses at Ida-Virumaa Vocational Education Center attend irregularly, director Hendrik Agur said, a problem Narva Mayor Katri Raik says the school also shares responsibility for.
Ida-Virumaa Vocational Education Center Director Hendrik Agur said in a social media post Sunday that around 100 students have been regularly absent from the two-month Estonian-language course that began on February 2.
That represents one-fifth of the 500 students enrolled in the language program.
In a Russian-language appeal to parents, Agur urged them to speak with their children at home and emphasize that intensive language study is not an obligation but an opportunity.
"Discuss with your children how important this period is in their lives and help them understand that this opportunity must be used to the fullest. They simply need to come to school and study. We have done everything necessary to ensure your children can acquire Estonian at a high quality," he wrote.
Katri Raik, mayor of Narva, responded critically to Agur's appeal on Monday, arguing that both Agur and the school had failed to do their homework.
"You launched large-scale Estonian-language instruction. Did you speak with the students beforehand, involve them in planning the curriculum, ask for their opinions? Did you convene parents? Did you explain it to the broader local community?" Raik wrote.
Raik recommended the school take an individualized approach in reaching out to students.
"If I may suggest as a former school principal: both the head of school and academic advisers should make individual appeals, phone calls, personal letters (AI won't help!) and meetings with so-called missing students. You have already lost a week. What are you waiting for? You must find your own students yourselves," she said.
The vocational education center launched the language courses on February 2 for first- and second-year students whose Estonian proficiency did not meet the B1 level.
According to Agur, many students at the vocational school were unable to use even basic phrases in Estonian, let alone pursue their education in the language. As a result, he decided to suspend vocational coursework during the period of language study.
To organize the courses, the school had to hire more than 20 additional language teachers and is still seeking five more.
The school has promised language teachers hired for three to five months a salary of at least €3,000 and free housing.
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Editor: Märten Hallismaa, Marcus Turovski
