€12 million of 2022 state budget to combat remote-learning side-effects

Education minister Liina Kersna (Reform).
Education minister Liina Kersna (Reform). Source: ERR

An additional €12 million has been earmarked in the 2022 state budget bill, currently being processed at the Riigikogu. The money will be used to mitigate the effects of distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

Education minister Liina Kersna said: "Every pupil must have the opportunity to receive extra professional support to make up for the gaps in their learning so that further learning is not hindered."

"The greater the mismatch between what one knows and what is being learned, the more difficult it becomes to learn new topics," Kersna went on, via a press release.

The additional support will be allocated to school managers in 2022 and will organize learning in a flexible and learner-centered way, BNS reports.

The additional money is calculated per student, with the exact rate of support to be determined after November 10, when the number of students in the current academic year is clarified in the national education database.

Addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis is a priority of the Ministry of Education and Research for 2021-2024. 

Smaller study groups, one-to-one teaching and additional teaching staff are among the possible solutions.

The ministry had already allocated €13.5 million in spring and for the same purpose, split around 50-50 between schools and summer study camps.

The latest can be used at the school's discretion to empower existing support measures.

A survey conducted last spring found that 27 percent of respondents found it difficult to find the motivation to study, while 9 percent said their grades were getting worse and that they didn't properly get to know their subjects.

With the start of the current academic year on September 1, schools generally went back to in-class study.

The state budget usually passes just ahead of the Riigikogu breaking up for Christmas.

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Editor: Andrew Whyte

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