Kaur Talpsep, a partner at Kauss, an architectural firm behind the designs of several school and kindergarten facilities, said that local governments have not been wasteful with money when it comes to planning educational buildings.

For one thing, buildings erected during the Soviet era already do not meet the modern-day requirement of two square meters of space per pupil, per classroom, he added.

Talpsep said: "In most cases, new buildings are being built to replace old, dilapidated ones, and there are quite a few situations where classrooms do not meet modern requirements at all."

"Another problem with old school buildings is that ventilation does not meet modern requirements. So if old school buildings get rebuilt or demolished, this has been a relatively unsustainable situation," Talpsep went on.

Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200), Minister of Education and Research, had said: "Investment, that is the construction or renovation of new buildings, accounts for 14-15 per cent of the cost of general education, while in other countries it is in the order of seven per cent."

"A large part of this is consists of state high schools, but not only that; in fact local authorities also make a very large investment. We are building some luxurious buildings in education," the minister added.

Kallas made her remarks after the presentation of analysis of education spending prepared this week by Jaak Aaviksoo, a former minister of education and former rector of TalTech and Tartu universities.

Some local government leaders also rejected claims of wastefulness.

Asso Nettan (SDE), deputy mayor of Jõgeva, said: "Taking Jõgeva municipality as an example, I can't say that we have gone to build luxuries anywhere."

"Instead, we look to get the maximum result for the minimum cost," he went on.

It is the state-built and financed high schools which enjoy the luxury school buildings, he added.

Mayor of Põltsamaa Karro Külanurm concurred, saying there is no need for a Ministry of Education plan to impose a ceiling on the average price per square meter that municipalities can charge for a new school or kindergarten.

Külanurm said: "I believe that local authorities are still broadly within reason in their assessment of the construction of educational buildings and the price per square meter, and I do not see any need to impose this restriction on local authorities."

"If we look at the most opulent educational buildings, I tend to think that they are certainly state high schools. I wouldn't venture to to say at all that the municipalities have now built very large and splendid educational buildings," Külanurm said.

A new kindergarten building which can house up to 300 children was completed in Põltsamaa a few years ago, replacing two older Soviet-built facilities.

This major investment has already paid off, Külanurm said, and was certainly not excessive and in fact are cost effective.

He said: "What is positive is that the construction of the kindergarten was started at a time when construction prices were so reasonable that the annual savings on the economic costs are now around €60,000."

Külanurm said that this could pay the annual salaries of at least two kindergarten teachers.

Deputy Mayor of Jõgeva, Nettan meanwhile stressed that investments must be maintained, as there are still plenty of inefficient buildings where savings are necessary for municipalities.

"This kind of looking in the mirror should be more about the need to carry out both a decent salary for teachers and a strong physical learning environment," he said.

"This has been demonstrated by our renovated buildings, where the learning environment has been improved, so that parents want to put their children in that school and kindergarten," Nettan added.

In the rural areas of Jõgeva County, teacher wages are likely already 120 percent of the average for the region, given that that overall average is lower than in Tallinn.

Nettan said it was "inappropriate" to accuse local authorities of putting more money into buildings than into salaries when it is the state sets those wages.

In Põltsamaa municipality, another major investment is planned for the Esku kindergarten building. The current building, which dates back to the early 1990s, is to be demolished and replaced by a kindergarten community center.

While Education Minister Kallas also spoke this week about the need for a major renovation, the mayor said that this option was considered for Esku, but that it was deemed not reasonable.

The building's floor space will be reduced from 1,300 to 900 square meters, but the new building will accommodate one more kindergarten class. In addition, the building will find more uses than just as a kindergarten. The expected savings in running costs are €30 00, he said.

The new analysis presented on Thursday and carried out by a working group led by academic Jaak Aaviksoo, found that while Estonia invests more money in school buildings than is average for the EU, but the amount allocated to teachers' salaries is below average.

A central overview of how money is spent is also missing, the analysis, made in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, found, and investments need to be reviewed.

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