Russian language schools to be closed in Finnish border towns
Termination of Russian-Finnish schools will save each city more than 1 million euros
In three Finnish cities bordering Russia – Imatra, Joensuu and Lappenranta – schools with Russian language instruction will be closed. The board of the Finnish-Russian School of Eastern Finland Foundation, which manages the schools, sent a corresponding message to the parents of the students, moscowtimes.eu reports.
The letter on behalf of Katri Anttila, the CEO of the school network, states that the possible closure was not previously discussed and came as a "complete surprise and shock" to the management.
One of the reasons for the closure of bilingual schools is the need to reform the education system and save money, said Lappenranta's representative. According to him, the closure of Russian-Finnish schools will save the city more than 1 million euros, which "could be used for other schools in the city."
Another reason is the decline in the number of children, as well as the falling popularity of learning Russian in primary school. For example, in 2022, more than 100 children in Joensuu and Mikkeli chose Russian as an additional language, and a year later, less than 30, according to the Finnish broadcaster Yle.
After the School of Eastern Finland closes, its students will move to other educational institutions.
According to Anttila, after the closure of the land border with Russia, Finland no longer needs specialists with knowledge of Russian in such traditional areas as tourism and trade. However, they are still needed in journalism, defense and cybersecurity, as well as employment and health services, Anttila emphasized.
Finland is getting closer to the Baltic states in terms of security, relations with Russia, and the approach to the Russian language and the Russian-speaking population, said Nikita Belukhin, a junior researcher at the Regional Problems and Conflicts Sector of the ISEMO RAS. According to him, with the reduction of cross-border trade and cultural contacts, specialists with knowledge of the Russian language will be needed less in the future than during the intensive ties in 2000-2010.
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