Estonia 2018

The Estonian school system is among the best performing in the EU, with the lowest percentage of underachievers in science and mathematics and the second lowest in reading, according to the 2015 Programme for international student assessment (PISA) results. The impact of socioeconomic status on the acquisition of basic skills is one of the lowest in the EU. However, national examinations show that the learning outcomes of students in schools in rural areas are lower than those of their peers in urban areas and there is a performance gap between students studying in Estonian and those in Russian-medium school. The proportion of Russian-medium basic school graduates (ISCED 1-2) with at least an intermediate level of proficiency in Estonian (B1) decreased to 57% in 2017, significantly below the 90% national target set for 2020. However, Estonian language acquisition has been improving in upper secondary. Tertiary educational achievement and adult participation in lifelong learning are above EU averages. The rate of early school leavers was 10.8% in 2017; although this is around the EU average (10.6), it is above the national target of 9.5% set in the national reform programme Estonia 2020 ([1] https://riigikantselei.ee/en/supporting-government/national-reform-programme-estonia-2020 [assessed 6.2.2019]). Early school leaving remained virtually unchanged in recent years and is high in the context of a shrinking population, skills shortages and the need to update the skills of the population. The rate remains much higher for men (14.2%) than women (7.3%). Efforts are being made to improve the attractiveness of VET, which remains low. The share of basic school graduates who continue to VET has not increased significantly in the past ten years; it was 25% in 2017, below the national target of 35%. However, recent data shows an increasing number of young people (37%) are opting for VET three years after graduating from basic education, showing that strengthening career counselling during the last two years might have helped. The employment rate of recent VET graduates was 86.2%, above the EU average (76.6%). The employment rate of recent graduates in higher education improved in 2017 to 83% (75.5% in 2016), placing it slightly below the EU average of 84.9% (European Commission, 2018).

On 12 December 2018, Parliament adopted amendments to the Vocational Educational Institutions Act ([2] https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/505022014002/consolide/current) to link vocational programmes better with the labour market and renew the funding principles of vocational schools. Up to 20% of school operating expenses will be covered by performance-based financing, determined by school results. The aim of the performance-based financing is to motivate schools to complete their main tasks successfully. The act foresees more flexible ways to access vocational training and to update quality assessment. The way that current accreditation of vocational education is organised will be replaced by quality assessment. This change means that a study-centred approach at school will be developed and the trustworthiness of vocational education increased. The needs of local employers and the labour force are to be taken into account to a greater extent, vocational studies are to become more flexible, and new forms of study will be piloted in cooperation with local governments ([3] https://www.rahandusministeerium.ee/en/local-governments-and-administrative-territorial-reform).

There is a comprehensive national qualifications framework (NQF) for lifelong learning, the Estonian qualifications framework (EstQF), established in 2008 through the Professions Act ([4] The Professions Act, entered into force on 1 September 2008: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/501072015005/consolide [assessed 06.02.2019] ). It has eight levels and includes all State-recognised qualifications. The overarching framework brings together four sub-frameworks; for higher education qualifications ([5] Referred to as standard of higher education.), for vocational education and training (VET) qualifications ([6] Referred to as vocational education standard.), for general education qualifications ([7] Referred to as national curriculum for basic schools and national curriculum for upper secondary schools.) and for occupational qualifications ([8] Occupational qualifications are those associated with a trade, occupation or profession, usually resulting from work-based learning, in-service training, and adult education.). The sub-frameworks include specific descriptors as defined in the corresponding national educational standards, underpinning quality assurance activities.

Referencing of the EstQF to the European qualifications framework (EQF) and self-certification to the qualifications framework of the European higher education area (QF-EHEA) was completed in 2011; the joint report was endorsed in the EQF advisory group in October 2011. The referencing report was revised and updated in 2016 to include recent developments in the education system (Estonian Qualifications Authority et al., 2016).

The national lifelong learning strategy ([9] Estonian lifelong learning strategy 2020 is a document that guides the most important developments in education. It is the basis on which the government will make its decisions for education funding for the years 2014-20 and for the development of programmes that support the achievement of necessary changes: https://www.hm.ee/en/estonian-lifelong-learning-strategy-2020 ) has set five goals for 2020, aiming to tackle existing challenges in a holistic approach: a change in the approach to learning; competent and motivated teachers and school leadership; concordance of lifelong learning opportunities with labour market needs; a digital focus in lifelong learning; equal opportunities and increased participation in lifelong learning.