Estonia

Estonia in a nutshell

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Its territory covers only 45,227 km² and is divided into 15 counties. Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn. Estonia was a member of the League of Nations from 1921, has been a member of the United Nations since 1991, of the European Union since 2004 and of NATO since 2004. With only 1.4 million inhabitants, Estonia comprises one of the smallest populations of the EU countries.

In 1918, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued, to be followed by the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920), which resulted in the Tartu Peace Treaty recognizing Estonian independence in perpetuity. During World War II, Estonia was occupied and annexed first by the Soviet Union and subsequently by the Third Reich, only to be re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944. Estonia regained its independence in 1991 and it has since embarked on a rapid program of social and economic reform. Today, the country has gained recognition for its economic freedom, its adaptation of new technologies and as one of the world's fastest growing economies.

The official language in Estonia is Estonian, which belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family and is closely related to Finnish. Along with Finnish, English, Russian and German are also widely spoken and understood. The major minority language is Russian with its speakers making up about 30 % of the population. Russian-language education is provided in public and also in private schools at all levels: pre-school, basic and secondary schools, as well as vocational schools higher education institutions. About 24 % of all Estonian school children attend Russian-language basic and secondary schools. Some 10 % of higher education students study in Russian.

Estonian education policy

The Estonian Constitution states that everybody has the right to an education. Attending school is compulsory for all school-age children to the extent established by law, and is free in general education schools established by state and local governments. In order to make education accessible, the state and local governments are financially responsible for maintaining the necessary number of educational institutions. The law allows the establishment and operation of other types of educational institutions, including private schools.

Everybody has the right to an education in the Estonian language. In an educational institution in which minority students predominate, the language is chosen by the educational institution. Education is under the supervision of the state.

The Education Act has established that the objective of education is:

• creating favorable conditions for the development of individuals, family, the Estonian nation, national minorities and Estonian economic, political and cultural life in the context of the world economy and culture;
• developing a law-abiding citizenry;
• providing conditions for continuing education.

A wide network of schools and supporting educational institutions has been established in Estonia. The Estonian educational system consists of state, municipal, public and private educational institutions. The Education Act states that in accordance with the UNESCO international standard of education classification, education has the following levels: pre-primary education, basic education, secondary education and higher education.

Each level has its established requirements, which are called the state educational standards and are presented together with state curricula. The curricula contain the mandatory study programs, time scheduled to cover the programs, and descriptions of compulsory knowledge, skills, experience and behavioral norms.

References

• Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (2006)

OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for Estonia.

Relevant websites

• The Estonia Page
• Wikipedia

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