It's encouraging to see that the issue of education quality has briefly returned to the spotlight. But that's where the positive developments end, because the problems are vast and, for more than a decade now, no systemic solutions have been found — despite teachers, parents and business leaders repeatedly highlighting, with stubborn persistence, issues that require fundamental reform.

The National Audit Office has also pointed out that the shortage of qualified teachers is a serious concern, noting that the real extent of the problem is likely greater than what the education information system indicated in 2023. It's also shortsighted to assume that the solution lies in penalizing schools for failing to hire enough qualified teachers under current conditions.

The share of teachers lacking formal qualifications has grown significantly. In 2018, Estonia had 2,180 unqualified teachers; this academic year, that number is close to 4,000. It's understandable that some of these teachers are still pursuing their qualifications and actively working on their professional development — many may meet the requirements within a few years. But if we have 17,390 teachers in total and 22 percent of them lack the required qualifications, we must ask: how can we realistically expect to maintain the high quality of general education? Or how would we react if nearly a quarter of drivers were operating vehicles without the proper license?

At the same time, Estonia has one of the oldest teaching workforces in Europe. In 2022, Statistics Estonia reported that 9 percent of teachers were aged 65 or older and another 27 percent were between 55 and 64. Older teachers are highly experienced professionals, but it's clear that they, too, eventually want to reduce their workload — a goal that is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve under current trends.

During the 2022/2023 academic year, 15 teachers in Estonia were working with only a basic education. In the same period, 949 teachers held only a secondary education. One would very much hope that those numbers have not increased this school year. Yet again, this is not an issue that appeared overnight — we've had ample time to address it and have long seen it coming.

Problems related to teacher pay, recruitment and long-term prospects are no surprise to anyone. Nor is the fact that a growing number of students are failing to grasp basic mathematics — and our proposed solution is to eliminate exams. It is inconceivable that if 25 percent of our students are unable to meet the 50-percent threshold, our first response would be to effectively do away with academic assessments and allow students to graduate despite substandard results.

A similar solution was floated in 2022, when the exam threshold was temporarily scrapped due to difficulties stemming from the health crisis. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and that practice was not continued — thanks in large part to strong opposition from business leaders and subject teachers. At the time, business leaders also identified eight fundamental problems that, in their view, were more pressing than exam thresholds. One of these was the deepening shortage of subject teachers.

Today, seven of those eight core problems still remain unsolved and their severity has only grown over time. The eighth — creating greater overlap between vocational schools and upper secondary schools (high schools) — has started to move in a positive direction. But what about the others?

Education should not be seeking quick and convenient fixes. If we are facing a situation where nearly a quarter of a classroom cannot master basic mathematics, how can we expect to have qualified engineers, doctors or even future teachers? While expanding the use of qualified foreign labor is certainly part of the solution, our primary focus must be on ensuring that our own young people receive a well-rounded, world-class education.

We cannot afford to set our ambitions any lower than producing smart and enterprising individuals who succeed in all walks of life — and who, through their knowledge, help make Estonia innovative and successful.

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