No-confidence motion against Estonia's education minister fails
The Riigikogu did not support a motion of no confidence brought by 22 EKRE and Center Party MPs against Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200).
The motion was supported by 25 and opposed by 60 members of the Riigikogu.
Martin Helme, chairman of the Conservative People's Party (EKRE), when presenting the motion, said that Kallas has lost MPs' trust in the post of minister, giving as the reasons failed state high schools digital entry exams, problems with the education reform, the transition to teaching in Estonian and matters of teacher training and salaries.
Kristina Kallas said, addressing the parliament Monday, that the education minister signing one document or other is not enough to ensure sufficient teacher training in Estonia. "It requires all general education school operators to agree with all other sides – representatives of teachers, the government as well as private schools – on teachers' working conditions and normal workload to render the profession attractive again," the minister said.
Kallas described as the second most serious problem in Estonian education the fact that a growing number of young people settle for basic education.
"We have a lot of students who do not obtain secondary, vocational or higher education. And it is a serious concern," she noted.
The education minister said that popularizing vocational education is the key to solving that problem.
"We are currently preparing a vocational education reform, which we really cannot rush because the changes will be notable. We have the next two years in which to prepare to execute the vocational education reform in 2026," Kallas said.
Regarding the switch to teaching in Estonian in all schools, the minister said that relevant efforts over the past 30 years constitute one of the biggest reforms in Estonian education. She pointed out that 53 percent of graduates of Russian-language basic schools still failed to pass the B1 Estonian language exam in 2023. "It is work we've all failed to do and the reason we're pursuing the transition today," Kallas said.
Based on information from local governments, Estonia is short some 90 teachers for grades one through four that are set to switch to learning in Estonian from the next academic year, the education minister pointed out, adding that the ministry is actively working with municipalities to solve the problem.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Marcus Turovski
