Last year, the government decided to increase teachers' minimum monthly wage by 3 percent, i.e. to €1,803. They did not manage to submit a proposed amendment to the 2024 state budget, however, and therefore the government issued a regulation last year stipulating that the money would be paid out from outside of the government support fund.

In other words, this year's teachers' raise had to be ensured, in addition to the government's support fund, using money earmarked in the Ministry of Education's for its "Smart and Active Estonia" performance area.

The National Audit Office, however, didn't find this acceptable. Auditor General Janar Holm stated that ministries should not be able to make changes to the state budget in bypassing the Riigikogu – meaning that the volume of the support fund for the higher than planned wage increase can only be increased by the Riigikogu, which must amend the state budget to do so.

The Ministry of Finance confirmed to ERR that these wages will reach teachers on time and in the agreed volume.

"We've come to an understanding regarding the issues to which the National Audit Office had drawn attention," said Elina Kink, communications director at the Ministry of Finance. "The necessary amendment will be made to the state budget."

Teachers in Estonia were unsatisfied with the wage increase that had been decided last year, finding it insufficient. Following a nationwide teachers' strike last month, the Estonian Education Personnel Union (EHL) and the minister of education reached a deal according to which teachers' minimum monthly wage would increase to €1,820.

Tallinn Education Department director Kaarel Rundu said that the first wage increase took place on January 1, based on a Tallinn city government regulation setting the minimum wages of employees of institutions managed by the department.

"Tallinn has established a minimum wage of €1,803 for general education school teachers; a similar decision has also been made regarding the wages of kindergarten, vocational and hobby school teachers as well," Rundu explained. "For general education schools, the source of funding is the state support fund. Kindergarten, vocational and hobby school teachers' raises will be provided from city budget funds."

The other raise, the one achieved with the teachers' strike, has not yet happened, he continued, as the government has not yet amended the underlying regulation.

Setomaa Municipal Mayor Raul Kudre said Tuesday that the state hasn't yet sent them the supplemental funds, but they have nonetheless paid out in full to their education workers, from the municipality's own money, the raise designated by the Riigikogu last December.,

As for the other portion of the teachers' raises, Kudre admitted that they have not in fact paid this out, and was unable to say when this might happen, as they lack certainty regarding when the state may allocate the necessary funds to the municipality.

Speaking on behalf of the Finance Ministry, Kink noted that when it comes to the teachers' wage increase, the whole must be taken into consideration as well, i.e. what was decided independently of the teachers' strike: that with this year's state budget, an additional combined €17.185 million was allocated from the budget of the Ministry of Education's area of government to the government's local government unit support fund in connection with the specification of the number of students.

This money also included, among other things, funding for the wage costs of teachers, principals and head teachers, operating expense support, educational literature, teachers' and principals' additional training as well as school lunches.

A further €5.6 million, she added, was allocated to state schools for the organization of additional Estonian language studies for students with native languages other than Estonian and of additional Estonian-language activities, as well as for bonuses for teachers, support specialists and principals at schools in Ida-Viru County.

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