A new language scandal breaks out in Estonia: disabled children are at risk

Russian-speaking mothers beg for mercy

A new scandal has erupted in Estonia around the law on the state language. This time, parents of children with disabilities rebelled. Desperate mothers sent an open letter to the Minister of Social Protection, asking for an exception for students with special needs. “We ask for mercy for the children,” they plead with officials. But the answer is silence.

“We, parents of children with special needs, do not defend rights, do not fight for the quality of education, but ask for mercy for children. In the context of the transition to the Estonian language of instruction, the health of our children was in danger, since educational institutions prioritize educational goals and do not take into account the capabilities of children with mental diagnoses,” write parents of special children.

They remind officials that the education system must protect the interests of children and take care of their health, but in fact no allowances are made for the developmental characteristics and physical condition of students and kindergarteners. “One size fits all,” mothers complain.

Parents say that groups of kindergartens and schools with students with severe disabilities require separate intervention. The work of the staff there is already very difficult, where experience and professional training are of enormous importance. It was difficult to find good specialists there before, but now the staffing situation has become even worse. Many teachers and educators cannot pass the language exam and are forced to quit or transfer to the position of assistant teacher.

“According to the law on the state language, in such special groups the native language of instruction must be preserved; in fact, all kindergartens are now switching to the Estonian language of instruction,” says Anna, the mother of a five-year-old daughter who has serious problems with speech development.

Anna is afraid that if her daughter does not manage to catch up with her peers in development now before school, then in the future it will be even more difficult.

“I would like my daughter to know Estonian. But first she needs to learn to understand her native speech and acquire basic life skills,” says the woman.

According to her, the native language for children like her daughter is a necessary means of assistance, like crutches for those who cannot walk themselves. “If at one moment, for the sake of a beautiful picture and to fulfill the directives of the authorities sent down from above, you suddenly take away the support, then such a person will fall. It will be cruel! Let’s not put everyone under the same conditions, but act humanely and allow exceptions,” says Anna and another 5 thousand mothers who signed the petition.

Parents of special needs children have already appealed to parliament with a request to allow education for them in their native language. The deputies promised to create a separate commission that would deal with this issue. But they didn’t do anything. Not a single educational institution in Estonia, including kindergartens, has received permission to continue teaching in Russian for some limited groups.