The Ministry of Education has run the numbers for the cost of studying at vocational schools and established a price list for paid vocational education. Those who have graduated from vocational school within the past five years or earned a university degree less than ten years ago will have to cover the costs of learning a new profession themselves.

"We estimate this will affect about 3,000 of today's approximately 25,000 vocational students — meaning these are people who do not currently need vocational education at the qualification level to work or secure a job," said Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200).

Depending on the field, the cost per credit will range between €35 and €85, with the exception of music and art programs, where the price per credit will fall between €200 and €215.

"In music and the arts, instruction is individual, which is why the cost per credit is so high," Kallas explained. "The more affordable fields are those where students can be taught in larger groups and where there is less infrastructure involved."

The most popular so-called "hobby fields" to date have included floral arrangement, masonry, tailoring, automotive painting and furniture restoration.

Horticulture is popular as well, and going forward, the cost of one credit (EKAP) in a horticulture program will be €62. A year-long horticulture program requires 60 credits, bringing the total tuition cost for the one-year program to €3,720.

"If we take handicrafts, which will cost €70 [per credit], then in short, the cost for one year for an adult is €4,200," noted Tallinn Applied College director Kaspar Kaugija.

"We have to consider that if an adult wants to change professions or enter the labor market in a new field, they must have €4,200 of disposable money handy," he acknowledged.

Vocational schools are currently unable to say to what extent student numbers — as well as available courses — will decrease due to the upcoming partial reintroduction of tuition.

"We have quite a large number of adult students in agriculture who are studying at the [qualification framework] level four level," noted Olustvere School of Service and Rural Economics (OTMK) director Arnold Pastak. "They need this to qualify for support and investment grants. Beekeeping has been popular so far, but I guess we'll see how things turn out."

Pastak noted that their vocational school currently has state-commissioned spots available for enrollment. "We'll see how many students meet the conditions to receive this education," he said. "Based on that, we can decide how many free spots we can offer and at what price."

From now on, tuition will be charged for all Russian-language vocational education as well. According to the education minister, students who still lack sufficient proficiency in Estonian after graduating from basic school will be given an additional year to improve their Estonian language proficiency.

"Providing vocational education in Russian is a disservice to these young people, because all further study opportunities, self-improvement and even skill development in the labor market will be hindered by the fact that they do not speak Estonian," Kallas explained.

Despite the reintroduction of tuition fees, vocational education in Estonia will still require an additional €5 million in funding, she added.

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