Kallas says Estonia does not yet know how many students lack school places

Estonia does not yet know how many students will be left without a school place because schools have until September 10 to finalise their enrolment lists, Education and Science Minister Kristina Kallas told ERR’s First Studio. As of September 1, about 1,300 students had no school place recorded.

Kallas said schools were still waiting for students to change schools before entering final details into the education information system.

She said around 500 of the children without a recorded school place appeared to have Ukrainian names. Schools have been unable to contact their parents and do not know whether the children are still in Estonia, have left the country or plan to return.

Kallas said Estonia could consider a system similar to Finland’s, where students rank up to seven school choices. If a student receives an offer from a lower-ranked school, the choices ranked below it are automatically removed, while the student can still move to a higher preference if a place becomes available.

According to Kallas, students are currently moving between schools too frequently, forcing schools to repeatedly revise their lists, including during the first week of September. She said some limits may be needed on the freedom to choose schools, while noting that Estonian education policy strongly values schools’ autonomy over their admissions processes.

Kallas identified the shortage of teachers, particularly qualified teachers, as the biggest problem facing Estonian schools. She said artificial intelligence was unlikely to reduce the need for teachers, arguing that personal interaction and one-to-one learning would become more important and that smaller classes could increase demand for teachers.