"We will raise the minimum wage [of teachers] to at least €1,250, which by 2019 will bring a rise in the average wage to at least €1,500," the ministry said in an overview published on Tuesday.

"At the same time, the large share of part-time teachers in the general education schools is still a problem, but one that should be alleviated by the continued consolidation of the school network," the press office of the ministry said.

According to the information published, there are currently 533 general education schools in Estonia just ahead of the upcoming new academic year.

The state also promises to address the salaries of kindergarten teachers. "Our objective is to equalise the salaries of kindergarten teachers with those of school teachers at the same level of education," the ministry said.

As the internationally very competitive results of the Estonian education system rest namely on the country's teachers, the ministry is stressing the need to make sure there is a next generation of teachers as well. For that, they have created a working group that will review measures directed towards teacher training, assess the efficiency of the measures and, where needed, develop new solutions for alleviating the shortage of teachers. The group will include representatives of various interest groups as well as experts, the ministry said.

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