Minister: Education agreement won't reduce autonomy of municipalities

  • 2024-11-12
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - According to Estonia's Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas, the education agreement will not reduce the autonomy of municipalities, and the government is planning to have the additional money necessary for the implementation of the career model of teachers included in the 2026 state budget.

According to Kallas, the purpose of the education agreement is to give teachers in general education confidence in career opportunities, wages and burdens throughout the profession, while avoiding central over-regulation and preserving as much as possible of the flexibility and the autonomy of the owners and managers of schools that has brought success to Estonian education. Also after the conclusion of the education agreement, the heads of schools and teachers will agree on the duties and workload of teachers.

"The education agreement will not establish a national norm for the hours worked by teachers per week. This is not considered necessary by any party, as it would violate the autonomous order that we have today," Kallas said. She said the aim was to formulate a nationwide framework agreement to ensure that teachers work with a reasonable workload.

The aim of the career model to be introduced in Estonia is to support the professional development of each teacher, promote high-quality and effective teaching, and foster educational innovation. Additionally, all teachers will have the opportunity to apply for senior teacher and master teacher qualifications, achieve the third and fourth career levels, and accordingly, receive 1.1 and 1.3 times the minimum teacher salary.

To ensure the successful implementation of the career model, it is planned to increase the differentiated component of labor costs allocated to school owners from 20 percent to 24 percent.

The government plans to allocate the necessary funds for the implementation of the career model in the state budget for 2026. On Sept. 26, the government took note that additional funds need to be earmarked for 2026-2028 for the implementation of the career model. The exact source of the funds for the implementation of the career model will be determined during the preparation of the 2026 state budget, as it will be based on forecasted tax revenues and budget cuts. According to current forecasts, it will be possible to earmark additional budgetary funds for the implementation of the career model starting from 2026.

The education funding amounts envisaged under the state budget strategy for 2025-2028 are estimated amounts and take into account the decline in the number of students. It should be noted that the estimated costs will be updated every year on Nov. 10, as the size of the teacher labor cost subsidy is based on the number of students, the ministry said.

In January, the Ministry of Education and Research proposed starting talks with local governments, private school operators, teacher unions, school leader associations, and the ministry regarding the teacher career model, workload, and working conditions in general education schools. The education agreement is a goodwill agreement concluded for 2026-2028. The parties have been sent the education agreement for signing, and the joint signing will take place on Dec. 9, the ministry said.