Reps believes it is best if parents can choose between kindergartens. “For example, there is a great rush to get into the Narva state high school,” Reps says. “Perhaps we should create special opportunities in difficult regions? Such measures would work faster than simply amending legislation or hiking fines and penalties.”
Representative of Pro Patria Priit Sibul says that his party imagines a universal Estonian-language education system. The long-term goal is a switch to fully Estonian education, Sibul says.
“It is the position of Pro Patria that the state budget should only be used to fund schools that teach in the official language – Estonian,” he emphasizes.
Head of the Estonian Greens Züleyxa Izmailova finds that switching to teaching in Estonian by amending the law is neither possible, practicable nor needed.
“We need to offer much better opportunities for learning Estonian already in kindergarten and elementary school,” Izmailova says. While she believes the concept proposed by Estonia 200 is the right one, Izmailova is very skeptical in terms of whether it can be realized.
Head of the Free Party Andres Herkel says that everything starts with Estonian kindergarten. Once that exists, the question of whether separate schools for Estonians and Russians can exist is no longer relevant.