The ministry submitted its proposals this week which aim to change the current law. Under the new changes, general education would become compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 18.

Basic education alone is not sufficient for success in today's labor market, the ministry said, as graduates will be working for at least 50-60 years.

But school leaders told Friday's "Aktuaalnel kaamera" they are not convinced by the new plans and foresee several problems.

Tallinn Art High School director Mari-Liis Sults said the school will no longer be able to exclude students with bad grades. She said the school could raise its admission criteria. 

Kopli Vocational School has reduced its student dropout rate from 30 to 22 percent over the last 18 months. Most of the dropouts are young people with special educational needs, mostly Russian native speakers, who do not know Estonian.

School Director Kaspar Kaugija said: "We will have to keep them [if the law changes] by force. I do hope that this law will indicate how to do that because when it comes to minors, it is the parent who decides. Maybe if a parent comes in, presents a certificate that the child is no longer in school, that we have no right to keep the child enrolled."

But Minister of Education Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said adults will not be able to make exemptions for their children.

"At the very least, this young person must be in the process of acquiring some kind of vocation. The lowest level professions can be acquired in two years. We have about 700 young people every year who only have basic education," she said.

It is this group that Kallas wants to change. Young people graduating from elementary school will be given extra options starting in the spring of 2025.

She said more curricula are being created that will allow young people to acquire a profession while studying or catch up on their education at the same time if necessary.

Kaugija, from Kopli Vocational School, said the new policy will create a "huge strain" on schools. "Consequently, there is a need for more special needs teachers, social workers to deal with pupils whose first choice is not to pursue an education or to improve their vocational skills," he told AK.  

The minister said this is understood by the ministry. "We will reorganize the funding model within vocational education and training, and on that basis, additional resources will then go into the general education part," Kallas said.

This means that vocational training for adults who already have a vocational qualification or higher education will be paid, and vocational schools will be able to use this money to hire support staff.

But Kaugija does not understand why a vocational school should become a vocational high school. "If they wanted to go to high school, they would have gone to high school," he said.

Additionally, this may exacerbate the teacher shortage.

"If this reform passes, there will also be a new problem that vocational schools will also have to provide general education. But then my maths/physics/chemistry teachers will also be welcome to work in vocational schools," said Tallinn Art High School's Sults.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!