There are over 17,000 teachers in Estonia, and approximately 4,000 of these, or 22 percent, do not meet the full qualifications for the job, ERR reported.

Reemo Voltri, head of the Estonian Education Personnel Union (EHL) said this essentially means that the equivalent number of teachers are lacking for the upcoming school year.

He said: "Every year, the number of unqualified teachers rises significantly."

"Should someone not meet the qualification requirements, this also means they may not be able to perform their job as effectively, which poses a serious threat to the sustainability of Estonia's high-quality education system," Voltri went on.

Voltri added that the number of unqualified teachers is rising because of the lack of job security and the government's actions not tallying with their words on this.

"If wage disparities are so large, the responsibility is immense, societal expectations for teachers are high, the workload is heavy, and there are no real career opportunities for teachers, and this becomes the reason," he said.

Järva County has the highest proportion of unqualified teachers, with a third not meeting the requirements, compared with the national average of 22 percent – in fact Järva County drags this average upwards, as in most of the other 14 counties the figure hovers around the 20-percent mark.

Margo Sootla, principal of Paide High School, said that while some of their teachers are still in training, others had to be found over the summer to ensure the school year could start smoothly.

"This year, it was a bit harder to find a new teacher due to one leaving. But different years present different challenge; sometimes it's easier, sometimes it's harder," she said.

Sootla said the situation in Järva County is likely as it is since the living environment there may not be attractive to would-be educators; in some case, a teacher is hired, trained, supported, gains experience and then moves elsewhere.

In some cases they may stay at the school, but leave the area, she said.

As the most populous county, Harju County has the most unqualified teachers, at over 1,500 unqualified teachers in general education.

Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) said the capital's education system is ready for the first day of term, traditionally September 1, yet there are still 103 teaching vacancies, with shortages particularly in tech, science, math, elementary school teachers and Estonian language teachers.

Nationwide, around 20 percent of teachers in a given subject lack the full qualifications, though the figure rises to around 26 percent with tech and also PT teachers.

Voltri said that in the latter case there could be an underlying attitude that physical education is somehow less complex.

"However, in reality, it's crucial that we have professional teachers in all subjects who can effectively teach and instill good habits," Voltri noted.

There are also shortages of supply teacher and other support specialists, in part due to lower pay, he added.

Deputy Mayor Jašin said he is also concerned about the shortage of support specialists, with the capital currently looking for around 40 of these – a "significant number," he said.

--

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