EDUCATION IN ESTONIA Andres Lokk Chief Expert of Youth Information and Participation Estonian Youth Work Centre Ministry of Education and Research

Young people in Estonia In Estonia there is about 1,34 milj. people In 2010, 1. Jan, there was youngsters (7-26 years) men female

Young people 7-26 years old The European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA) is an international not-for-profit association based in Luxembourg. It was established on 17 April 1986 in Madrid. As of April 2010, ERYICA network consists of 25 members, 4 affiliated – and 4 co-operating organisations working in 28 countries

Education funding In recent years, 14-15% of the total public expenditure in Estonia has been invested in education each year, in 2009 this amount was 13% (831 million euro)

Education opportunities in Estonia Preschool child care institution Children who turn 7 years of age by 1st of Oct. of the current year are obligated to attend school General education - Primary school (1-6 grades) - Basic school (1-9 grades) The compulsory schooling obligation applies to children until acquire basic education or turn 17 years -Secondary school (10-12 grades) Vocational education Higher education

General education (grades 1-12) The majority of general education schools (513 of 575 schools in the 2009/10 academic year) are municipal schools, while 29 schools are state schools and 33 are private. Of the state schools, 25 are for pupils with special needs and 4 are ordinary schools.

General education (grades 1-12)

Studing in Estonian-language in upper secondary schools (grades 10-12) In 2005, the Ministry of Education and Research designated five subjects in which the transition to Estonian-language instruction would take place from 1 September 2007 to In the 2010/2011 academic year, pupils beginning 10th grade will have the following courses in Estonian: one in Estonian literature, two in social studies, three in music, two in Estonian history, and nine in the Estonian language. As of autumn 2011, 60% of the studies of students entering 10th grade in schools with Russian language instruction will be taught in Estonian throughout their three years in upper secondary school. This means that the total transition will end in 2013 when the new national curriculum will be implemented in all Estonian schools.

Vocational education

In the 2009/10 academic year: there were 44 vocational educational institutions of which 30 are state vocational schools, 3 are municipal vocational schools, and 11 are private vocational schools. In addition, vocational study is also conducted at 6 institutions of professional higher education.

Vocational education

Gray line – avarege amount of students in vocational education school

Vocational education Priorities: vocational education corresponds to the need of economy quality and reputation of vocational education vocational education operates in cooperation with other types and levels of education

Vocational education The largest field of study in vocational education is technology, production, and construction (Figure 7), which 12,334, or 43% of all vocational students, were studying in the 2009/10 academic year.

Lifelong learnging According to Statistics Estonia, in 2009 a record number of people in Estonia participated in lifelong learning – adult students comprised 10.6% of year-olds.

Higher education Bachelor study, Master’s study, Doctoral study Two types curricula: - theory-based Bachelor study curricula - practice-based professional higher education curricula (at least 30% practical work) As of 30 July 2010, 33 educational institutions offer higher education in Estonia and they can be divided as follows according to their form of ownership: 6 public universities, 3 private universities 10 public professional higher education institutions, 12 private professional higher education institutions 2 public vocational educational institutions

Higher education

State-commissioned education Students are admitted to higher education programmes based on state- commissioned study places, where the state pays for the studies, or non-state-commissioned study places, and the student covers the cost of the education. During the 2008/2009 academic year, the number of students engaged in state-commissioned education constituted 48% in the 2009/10 academic year. Considering the growing need for specialists with doctorates outside academia, the number of state-commissioned doctoral study places is being gradually increased. The goal is to reach the average doctoral thesis defence efficiency in the EU and have at least 300 doctoral theses defended in Estonia every year.

Higher education ESF programme entitled “Continuing the Education of Higher Education Dropouts –TULE” The ESF programme entitled “Continuing the Education of Higher Education Dropouts –TULE” was initiated in 2010, and is being carried out by the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education and Research. The programme provides the possibility for people who have discontinued their studies at the higher education level to complete their studies. With the help of the TULE programme, those who have discontinued their studies between the 2003/04 and 2008/09 academic years and who have completed half of their curriculum can continue their education for free. The programme provides support for those who have dropped out of first and second cycle higher education. Thirteen educational institutions, where the acquisition of higher education can be continued, are participating as partners in the programme. The goal is to support at least 800 students who return to complete their studies in

Higher education

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