Closure of Toila Gymnasium Awaiting Court Ruling Has Divided the Community

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Modified Article (English Translation):

On Wednesday, the Tartu Administrative Court will rule on whether the closure of the upper secondary level (gymnasium) of Toila School was lawful. Regardless of the pending court decision, Toila municipality has already begun the process of closing the gymnasium section.

Twenty-five parents of students at Toila Gymnasium filed a lawsuit against the council's decision to close the upper secondary level of the school. The parents justified going to court by citing the limited involvement of the community and the fact that the last Estonian-language upper secondary school in Ida-Virumaa (East Virumaa) would be lost.

"Toila Gymnasium reportedly has the highest percentage of students with Estonian as their mother tongue, while the percentage is the opposite in other gymnasiums," said Piret Toovis, a parent of a student at Toila Gymnasium.

In addition to the decreasing number of students, one of Toila municipality's arguments for closing the upper secondary level was that the state would not have provided funding for the construction of a new school building otherwise. Eve East, the mayor of Toila, considered exchanging the gymnasium section for a new building to be reasonable.

"Our children also deserve this modern learning environment," said East, who was pleased that the school's architectural competition allowed for a selection from as many as 30 entries.

Court Upheld the Decision to Close Toila School's Upper Secondary Level

One of the hopes of Toila parents is that the merger of Toila and Jõhvi municipalities in the autumn might create an opportunity for upper secondary education to continue in Toila.

"Hopefully, investment funds will still be found, and the gymnasium will remain at least until the number of children genuinely decreases, because Jõhvi Gymnasium is currently overcrowded," hoped Maria Ronk, a parent of a student at Toila Gymnasium.

Rene Abramson, who plans to enroll his child in Toila School, told the Russian-language "Aktuaalne kaamera" (a news program) that he sees no point in preserving the upper secondary level of Toila School. "My child will study nine grades in Toila and then go to either Jõhvi, Kohtla-Järve, or Narva Gymnasium. There needs to be integration in the region so that Estonian-speaking children study together with Russian-speaking children. I see no point in maintaining a small gymnasium only for Estonian-speaking children," said Abramson.

Piret Toovis acknowledged that the disputes surrounding the school have divided the community. "There are those who support the basic school, but the majority of people believe that the gymnasium should still be preserved in Toila," said Toovis.

According to Toila municipality's current plans, Toila Gymnasium will continue as a basic school from the autumn of 2026.

Avaldatud 30/04/2025