However while the ministry is aiming to ease summer heat concerns, some student bdoes question the necessity of the change.

The Ministry of Education and Research has sent for approval a proposal to shorten the winter break to two weeks instead of three for the next two academic years, arguing that a longer break would delay the start of summer vacation.

The Ministry also argues that maintaining the traditional two-week break will allow summer vacation to begin one week earlier, preventing excessive classroom heat in late June.

Valdek Rohtma, the ministry's curriculum development advisor, said that students, especially those graduating, should be the main focus.

He said: "However, the main consideration should be students, especially graduates, who finish their exams in late April or early May."

"Final grades are given by June 1, and if the school year continues and its length isn't shortened (to 175 school days), having lessons in the heat almost until Midsummer seemed far from ideal," Rohtma went on.

Some schools had already been considering making a similar request.

Jüri Sasi, principal of the Tartu Forselius School (Tartu Forseliuse kool) found the ministry's proposal to be reasonable, especially since national exams for basic school students have been scheduled earlier.

Sasi said: "After these exams, ninth-graders have little to do, and the last days of June are often quite empty."

"Students are already thinking about summer, the curriculum has been completed, and schools are just looking for ways to keep students occupied," the school director went on.

"If the ministry hadn't made this proposal, many schools would have requested a shorter break themselves to finish the school year earlier in summer," Sasi added.

The Jaan Poska high school (Jaan Poska gümnaasium), also in Tartu, had also considered making a proposal along these lines.

School principal Mari Roostik argued that a three-week winter break would push both school completion and teachers' workload into Midsummer and beyond.

"This is not rational," he said, adding: "Breaks are usually two weeks long."

"I believe maintaining the routine with a two-week break in January is far more reasonable than in June, when it's 29 degrees outside and difficult to focus on studying," Roostik went on.

However, not everyone agrees with the change.

The Estonian student union (Eesti õpilasesinduste liit) said it finds the ministry's proposal somewhat unclear.

Ats Mattias Tamm, the council's chair, said shifting the schedule by just a week does not significantly impact students.

He said: "It's unclear, and we would like to better understand the reasoning behind it."

"Right now, it seems like a minor cosmetic change that doesn't really add anything substantial," Tamm went on.

The education ministry is expecting feedback on the proposal from stakeholders by February 26, with a final decision on the length of the winter break for the next two academic years to be confirmed in next month.

The current academic year and its breaks, plus those through to 2027, are at bottom here.

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