The law bumping the compulsory school age up to 18 was passed with 52 votes. The change aims to keep approximately 600 additional students in the education system each year who would otherwise leave school after 9th grade, i.e. finishing basic school.

Former education ministers Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) and Liina Kersna (Reform) both support the change in principle, but recognize that the state lacks the necessary funding for it.

"If [this reform] isn't accompanied by additional funding – and currently there is no indication of any in either the Education Ministry's plans or the state budget strategy – then it is doomed to fail," Lukas emphasized. "It's filling our souls with the deceptive joy of having implemented a major reform, when in reality it has no substance."

He pointed out that the ministry itself acknowledges that the country's vocational education system would need a one-third increase in funding to meet the additional obligations this latest change will bring. "But so far, we've been told this [money] must be found from internal reserves, which is absolutely impossible," he added.

"When the state implements reforms, it also needs to allocate the necessary resources for them in the state budget strategy," Kersna noted. "Right now, this is hinging more on trust."

Lukas said that this money needs to be found, especially given the fact that teachers and their career model, which is likewise vital, haven't received sufficient funding in vocational education either.

"No consideration has even been given, not even in the education agreement, to how to find this additional extra funding for vocational education," he pointed out.

Once the newly passed law enters into effect, schools will face a slew of additional responsibilities, including working with students who don't want to attend school. Additional support staff will be needed as well, including school psychologists and social pedagogues.

"This is a concern – research shows that interest in school and the motivation to learn often disappear right during the final years of basic school, particularly among boys," Kersna said. "And one proposed solution for this is for the education system to offer students in the final stage of basic school [grades 7-9] more opportunities to choose what they want to study."

Viljandi Vocational Training Center (VIKK) principal Tarmo Loodus says that the law increasing the compulsory school age was hastily passed, and warned that the brunt of its burden will fall on local governments.

"Local governments will need to provide additional support, initiate training for parents on how to fulfill this obligation, and so on," he described, acknowledging that local governments may end up with a bigger burden than even vocational schools.

"The hardest part will no doubt be getting them to attend school," Loodus said. "As the principal of a vocational school, I of course commend the local governments, because this will be their duty, but it won't be an easy one."

The new law is set to enter into effect next September, with the change to apply to students graduating from basic school in 2026.

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