According to Asser, the provision of free higher education in Estonia is no longer sustainable.

"If you look at the most recent competition-based reports, it is becoming more and more clear that even very rich countries cannot maintain higher education of the quality and volume necessary by using public funds alone. This debate is inevitable, it is a debate that has to take place," Asser told Vikerraadio's "Uudis +" program on Thursday.

"We are facing it internally, and in the very near future. I think that when we start to address this issue with the new government that will be formed, it should definitely be placed in the context of our defense spending and the reorganization of the economy," Asser said.

Asser was asked whether the Ministry of Education and Research has also proposed introducing fees to higher education.

"At the moment, some of these [solutions] are being implemented starting this academic year. For example, you cannot study [for free] repeatedly at the same level. But these are really all small things – this is not the main problem related to funding in higher education, and neither are small co-payments."

"Rather, we need to clarify what the quality, volume and proportion of highly educated people in society ought to be. And once there is an understanding of that, then we need to think through this funding scheme," Asser said.

The rector added that co-financing of higher education would also have a disciplining role in universities, as it would provide increases motivation for students to complete their studies.

As to how much students or their families would have to pay, Asser was not yet able to say.

While an administration fee of around €500 a year is under discussion, the rector did not see this as the solution to all the funding problems and there has been no decision on that front yet.

The rector also said that Estonian society is facing a debate on whether students who are working towards qualifications for professions that the state requires, such as doctors and engineers, should pay anything at all for their higher education.

"Whether everyone pays equally is something that needs to be agreed and discussed. At the moment, the current approach is that the first higher educational qualification should be available to all. But at what cost? That is now a separate issue. If we get to the point of creating these exemptions, we all understand that there will be a huge amount of bureaucracy and an unprecedented number of questions," said Asser.

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