Young teachers say grant rules left them without promised support

Several young teachers say they were denied a state start-up grant because of eligibility rules they say were unclear. ERR reported their concerns in its programme Pealtnägija.

The teachers featured include Elise Müür, 25, and Roger Anari, 32, of Pelgulinna School, and Liisa Salum, 26, of Kristiine Gymnasium. They described the early years of teaching as lonely and exhausting, with stress also linked to growing demands, parents’ expectations and pupils with special educational needs.

Salum said a grant of 15,600 euros had helped motivate her to pursue a master’s degree in education. After graduating last spring, she applied for the grant on September 7. She said she was later told she did not qualify because she lacked full-time experience at a basic school or gymnasium, although she says she had worked full time at a basic school.

Salum said she was then informed that applicants needed at least one year of work experience before receiving their degree. She said the requirement had previously appeared only on the “Võta õpetajaks” website, and that she had not expected to be disqualified.

She argued that the rule disadvantages people changing careers. To meet another grant condition, she asked her school to list her temporarily as a seventh-grade teacher, although she continued teaching art to pupils in grades four to six. The rules require applicants in cities to work as assistant teachers or teachers in lower grades.

Salum also said work at hobby education centres does not count towards the requirements. She had taken additional classes at Rocca al Mare Hobby School to supplement her teaching hours at Tallinn Art Gymnasium, but that period was not included.

The teacher start-up grant was established in 2007 to encourage teachers and vocational teachers to work outside Tallinn and Tartu, and to help new teachers with initial costs such as a home deposit or a car. The original grant was 200,000 kroons.

The programme has since been expanded to include support specialists at schools and kindergartens, including speech therapists, psychologists and social pedagogues. The one-off grant is now 15,600 euros. In recent years, an average of 150 to 180 new education workers have received it annually, at a total cost of about 2.5 million euros.

Education officials say the first three years are critical for teachers’ careers. The Ministry of Education and Research’s teacher policy expert Taavi Kreitsmann said losing a motivated and professional teacher is a loss for society as a whole.