Training
The level of education in Estonia is high.
The compulsory compulsory school lasts for nine years,
from the age of seven, and almost all pupils go on to
three-year high school or vocational school. There are
Estonian and Russian language schools as well as mixed
schools.
Estonia is high in the international PISA
measurements of knowledge outcomes at school. Estonian
schools are well advanced in IT development and since
2012, low-level students can receive computer
programming lessons.
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Allcitypopulation: Offers a list of biggest cities in the state of
Estonia, including the capital city which hosts major colleges and
universities.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Estonia, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
One problem is that low teacher salaries hamper
recruitment. It is especially difficult to get
Estonian-speaking teachers to Russian-speaking schools
in the northeastern part of the country.
In 1989, Estonia broke with the Soviet school system
and introduced its own curriculum for high school.
Thereafter, the education system has been reformed step
by step. The government places great importance on
everyone learning Estonian in order to be integrated
into society and be able to compete in the labor market.
Since 2011, Russian colleges must hold at least 60
percent of lessons in Estonian (or foreign languages).
During the Soviet era (1944–1991), Russian was a
mandatory ester substance. Since independence in 1991,
interest in Russian has dropped among Estonian students.
High school diploma requires proficiency in English as
well as in German, French or Russian. A lot of Estonian
students read Finnish.
At Nuckö high school (Noarootsi Kool) outside
Haapsalu, Swedish is a major subject. The school is
located in the coastal area of the Baltic Sea, which
had a Swedish-speaking minority before the Second World
War (see Population and Language).
Estonia has three leading state universities. The
main one is in Tartu and was founded in 1632 by King
Gustav II Adolf. The other two are Tallinn University of
Technology and Tallinn University. In addition, there
are a number of public and private specialty colleges.
At most higher education institutions, teaching is
held in both Estonian and Russian, but only a small part
of the students conduct their studies in Russian. The
2016/2017 academic year, 13 percent of first-year
students at Estonian universities were Russian-speaking.
Intensive teaching in Estonian can be given to
Russian-speaking students and there are introductory
courses where Estonian and Russian students use both
languages and learn from each other.
FACTS - EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary
school
93.5 percent (2016)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
11 (2016)
Reading and writing skills
99.9 percent (2011)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
13.0 percent (2015)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
13.0 percent (2015)
2017
March
Arvo Pärt center will be built
March 23rd
An agreement is signed for a new building which will open the Arvo Pärts
Center to the public in 2018. In the center outside Tallinn, Estonia's
world-renowned composer will archive her original manuscripts, and there will be
an auditorium and a library.
February
Crisis for IRL
An opinion poll shows that the IRL government is supported
by only 6 percent (Parliament has a five percent block). The Center
Party gets 31 percent, the Reform Party 25 percent,
the Social Democrats 10 percent, the Conservative
People's Party 9 percent and the Free Party 7 percent.
January
Rail Baltica
January 31
The Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sign an agreement on the
construction of Rail Baltica, a rail link that will link Finland, the Baltics
and Poland.
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