The chapter of the state budget explanatory memorandum concerning the expenditures of government ministries and constitutional institutions indicates that Harno (the Education and Youth Board) was allocated €87.9 million for this year, while its next year's budget has increased to €106.4 million.

This represents a nearly €18.5 million increase, with personnel costs rising by €8.5 million and other support funding by nearly €11 million. The memorandum also notes that Harno's operating costs were reduced by 5 percent.

However, these numbers do not provide an entirely accurate picture of the situation. Tiina Nõmm, Harno's communications partner, told ERR that the data used for this year's state budget was based on the situation as of June 1, 2023, when the Ministry of Education and Research (HTM) had not yet transferred some of the planned functions to Harno.

"For example, the costs related to the transition to Estonian-language education were still budgeted under HTM at that time, but today, those activities have been assigned to Harno's responsibility," she said.

Nõmm explained that the exact reflection of these activities in the budget will become clearer as they are transferred. She pointed out that while HTM's budget included a general sum under support, it may appear in Harno's budget as salaries or other types of expenses, depending on how the activities are transferred to Harno's jurisdiction.

"Thus, the increase in Harno's personnel and operating costs presented in the tables is mainly due to technical budget adjustments," said Nõmm.

She added that Harno's state budget funding will not increase. For the 2025 state budget, financial resources were transferred from HTM's budget to Harno's.

"It is also important to emphasize that a large portion of the cost increase, which includes salaries, operating costs and support, is related to the allocation of new European Union funds to Harno. These funds are intended for mediation and activity organization. Although Harno's state budget allocation decreases by €630,000, the overall budget increases due to the rise in external funding," Nõmm said.

Harno's budget consists of about 15 percent from the state budget and 85 percent from external funding.

The activity-based budgeting system, in use in Estonia since 2016, has been criticized for being difficult to understand. The National Audit Office has also highlighted that such budgeting does not fully align with real-world conditions.

--

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