In Estonia, 485 basic school graduates had no place for further education
In Estonia, as of September 11, 485 basic school graduates had no place for further education. The problem was most acute in Tallinn: more than 60% of young people without a place were graduates of Russian-language basic schools, Education Minister Kristina Kallas said, reports ERR News.
A day before the start of the school year, around 1,300 young people subject to compulsory education had no places in educational institutions. According to Kallas, some graduates of Russian-language schools were unable to enroll in vocational education institutions because they had almost no command of Estonian, despite studying it for nine years.
Language barrier for vocational education
The minister said that vocational education institutions cannot admit students who do not understand Estonian, even with certain concessions. She explained this by noting that vocational education includes technical subjects and students must understand, among other things, safety instructions.
According to Kallas's assessment, Estonian was taught in Russian-language basic schools for 45 minutes every day for nine years, while the rest of the education was not conducted in Estonian. She also suggested that explanations in Estonian language classes may have been given in Russian.
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Transition to education in Estonian
Schools transitioning to instruction in Estonian must conduct language tests in the fourth grade. The average result of students who began studying in Estonian in 2024 and a year later exceeded 50%. At the same time, Kallas noted that only about half of students reach level A1, the lowest level of language proficiency.
The ministry is also considering in which language current sixth-graders, who switched to Estonian-language instruction two years ago, will take their final mathematics exam in three years. Options include allowing them to choose the exam language or using simplified Estonian, since the exam must assess mathematics knowledge rather than language skills.
The ministry is testing language skills assessment for kindergartens and first grades. It is planned to add it to the document on a child's readiness for school. According to Kallas, the number of teachers who do not meet language requirements has decreased from 1,802 to 144 over two years.
