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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.
Estonian education system
Basic education is established by a national curriculum of basic and secondary education. On the basis of the national curriculum, schools compile their own curricula. Basic education covers grades from one to nine. Basic education in Estonia is compulsory. Basic education is mainly taught at municipal schools (basic school classes at primary, basic and secondary schools). Local governments determine a service area for each school where it is obliged to guarantee all school-age children the opportunity to study.
Secondary education is voluntary and free at state and municipal educational institutions. General secondary education is acquired at upper-secondary schools (grades 10-12), and vocational education at vocational education institutions. Secondary education is governed by a national curriculum of basic and secondary education (general secondary education) or by a national vocational education curriculum and national curricula of vocations (vocational secondary education).
In order to continue studies at a higher education institution, everybody has to pass the state exams, which are organized by the Exam and Qualification Centre at the Ministry of Education. The student chooses state exams according to his plans for higher education and the desired area of study at university or a professional higher school. An essay in the Estonian language is compulsory for all. The graduate of a secondary school receives a diploma and certificates of the state exams. Some universities and professional higher schools accept students on the basis of the state exam results, while others require additional tests.
Vocational schools offer vocational education in vocational, special and professional areas, on the basis of the school’s curriculum and in accordance with the national curriculum. The duration of studies for those who have acquired basic education is at least three years and for those who have secondary education at least a year.
Higher education is divided into vocational higher education, education with diploma, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and Doctor’s degree studies. Vocational higher education is acquired only at a vocational educational institution which functions on the basis of secondary education, or at a professional higher school. Academic education consists of three levels, attained within a period of 4 to 10 years (4 years for Bachelor’s degree, 2 additional years for Master’s degree and 4 for Doctor’s degree). The requirements set for higher education have been determined by the general standards of higher education; the state has established a system of accreditation. Some curricula have been assessed by international commissions.
Higher education in Estonia
The Estonian higher education system can be described as relatively heterogeneous. The reason for this is based on the concept of limited state administration of economic affairs – the dominant paradigm after the regaining of independence in 1991. In broad terms, state intervention was minimized as much as possible as a reaction against the strong state involvement during the Soviet period. As a result, the major developments during the last 15 years in higher education that have designed the face of Estonian higher education today are often the result of decisions made at institutional level and limited ministerial interference.
There are three types of educational institutions that provide higher education:
- Universities – institutions of research, development, study and culture at all higher education levels in several fields of study;
- Professional Higher Education Institutions – educational institutions of professional higher education and Magister-study.
- Vocational Education Schools – institutions of secondary vocational.
There are three different legal forms for HEIs: public, state and private. Private institutions can be owned by a public limited company or private limited company entered in the commercial register or by a foundation or non-profit association entered into the non-profit associations and foundations register.
In academic year 2005 – 2006, there were 39 HEIs in Estonia. Although the number of institutions seems high for a country the size of Estonia, this number has already been reduced due to the increase of quality and financial requirements in the legislation. The highest number of HEIs that the country has had was 49 in academic years 2001 – 2002 and 2002 – 2003. The number of students in academic year 2005 – 2006 was some 68,200.
Table I: Number of institutions and students in academic year 2005 - 2006 (subunits of institutions in regions are not considered separately)
| Number of institutions | Number of students | |
|---|---|---|
| Public universities | 6 | 42,867 |
| Private universities | 5 | 6,467 |
| State professional HEIs | 8 | 7,142 |
| Private professional HEIs | 13 | 7,452 |
| State VET schools providing HE | 6 | 4,058 |
| Private VET schools providing HE | 1 | 301 |
The governance of HEIs is under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Research with three exceptions – The Estonian National Defense College (Ministry of Defense) and the Public Service Academy (Ministry of Interior Affairs). The Baltic Defense College (situating in Tartu) is operating under the agreement of three Baltic Ministers of Defense and is not part of the formal higher education system.
Higher education reform
Most of the changes in recent years are connected with the developments of the European Higher Education Area, since Estonia was among the countries that signed the Bologna Declaration in 1999. The Bologna process was seen as a continuation of the earlier reform developments; as an opportunity to increase competitiveness internationally (especially regarding the comparable degree structure) and broadening students' choices in terms of national and international mobility. Another major change was a transfer to the performance based funding model (commissioning the graduates in certain broad study groups instead of financing the intake on a program basis).
In order to implement changes in connection to the Bologna process, a reform plan was approved by the Government in June 2001 – the first of its type. The earlier policy changes had been prepared by task forces that focused mostly on legislation and did not tackle the overall policy context in a comprehensive manner. So this was the initial step to this direction. The new development plan of higher education for 2006 – 2015 was approved by the Government in June 2006. (Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. 2006)
Administration and finance
The public universities and state professional higher schools are fully funded by the state budget. The schools can find additional sources of income elsewhere. The basis for funding is the number of students which is multiplied by a coefficient according to the specialty and level of education. The public universities are somewhat freer in spending money than professional higher schools. The number of places at school to be funded by the state budget is commissioned by state. Higher schools have the right to accept fee-paying students. Private schools of higher education also charge fees.
Quality assurance
Similarly to other Central and Eastern European countries, Estonia started to build up its national quality assurance system on the mid-1990s in answer to the rapid expansion of the higher education sector, and due to the need to create a transparency instrument for society and a support for the academic community in self-improvement. Given the rather large autonomy of HEIs, an accreditation system was created as the main vehicle for accomplishing these goals. According to the Law on Universities (1995), accreditation is voluntary. However, it is strongly recommended for getting state funding.
The costs related to accreditation are covered from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Education and Research or, at the request of the university, through the budget of the university. The annual cost for the Accreditation Center provided by Ministry of Education and Research was 4.9 million Estonian kroons (314 000 EUR) in 2005.
Estonian HEIs in the information society
Virtual initiatives in HE
References
- Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (2006)
- OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for Estonia.
Relevant websites