Education and Training Monitor 2022

1. Key Indicators

Figure 1: Key indicators overview

Sources: Eurostat (UOE, LFS, COFOG); OECD (PISA). Further information can be found in Annex I and at Monitor Toolbox. Notes: The 2018 EU average on PISA reading performance does not include ES; the indicator used (ECE) refers to early-childhood education and care programmes which are considered by the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to be ‘educational’ and therefore constitute the first level of education in education and training systems – ISCED level 0; the equity indicator shows the gap in the share of underachievement in reading, mathematics and science (combined) among 15-year-olds between the lowest and highest quarters of socio-economic status; b = break in time series, u = low reliability, : = not available, 09 = 2009, 13 = 2013, 18 = 2018, 20 = 2020.

Figure 2: Position in relation to strongest and weakest performers

2. A focus on gender equality in education

Boys and men are overrepresented among those with lower educational achievement, while the labour market does not always reward girls’ and women’s higher levels of education. Boys leave school early almost twice as often as girls. While the gender gap in early school leaving has diminished over time, it is still the third highest in the EU, with 4.4 pps in 2021. Low achievement at the end of lower secondary school is much higher among boys (Government of Estonia, 2021a). Educational paths differ too: boys choose vocational education and training more often, while more girls continue in upper secondary general education (HaridusSilm, 2022). Consequently, male vocational education graduates significantly outnumber female graduates (see figure 3), while more girls graduate from university. As a result, the tertiary education attainment gap is among the highest in the EU (21.2 pps in 2021, EU average: 11.1 pps). Although Estonia boasts the highest share of women among ICT graduates across the EU, with 35.5%¹, women are still underrepresented both in ICT programmes and on the labour market, where only 22.1% of ICT specialists are female (2021 Digital Economy and Society Index). Lower participation of women in high-paying ICT jobs plays a part in the gender pay gap, which is the second highest in the EU². While men have more leadership positions in education, science and research³, schoolteachers are predominantly female: 85% across education levels, and 99.5% in early childhood education and care (OECD, 2019b).

Gender gaps throughout the education system are one of the bottlenecks in unlocking the population’s full potential. Skills shortages persist, so gender segregation in education matters. For example, the jobs and skills forecasting system OSKA concluded that 2 600 new ICT professionals are needed every year – a number that the education system currently cannot supply (in 2020, 766 students graduated with an ICT degree)⁴. Finding a job is easier with higher levels of education: in 2021, 92.4% (EU: 84.9%) of recent university graduates found a job versus 70.6% of recent vocational education and training graduates (EU: 76.4%). Yet, implications of educational inequality might be broader: Estonians with a higher education diploma report being in good health more often than those  without⁵ The gender gap in life expectancy at birth is one of the highest in the EU (8.5 years in favour of women in 2020, EU average: 5.6 years)⁶. While the causal links between education, gender, employment and health need further research, governments should assess the broader indirect implications of gender inequality in education (Staring, Donlevy, & Day, 2021). 

Figure 3: Share of male graduates in upper secondary vocational education, 2020

The Estonian government acknowledges gender gaps in education and their broader implications for society. Estonia’s education strategy for 2035 highlights the importance of gender equality and recognises the need to organise learning in gender-sensitive ways. It mentions that from secondary school on, the choice of educational paths influenced by a person’s gender might lead to socioeconomic inequality and labour market segregation. On the reasons for boys’ lower performance, the strategy refers to ‘differences in attitudes towards learning’ (Government of Estonia, 2021a). The Gender Equality Act (§ 10) underlines that the design of curricula and study materials should help promote gender equality (Riigi Teataja (Official Journal), 2004). Consequently, the welfare development plan for 2016-2023 stipulated that gender equality would be systematically included in curricula, study materials, teacher education and continuous training at all educational levels (Ministry of Social Affairs, 2016). In practice, this is often not yet done (Anniste, Haugas, & Sepper, 2021). Finally, according to the Estonian language strategy for 2035, ensuring that everyone has good Estonian language skills will, inter alia, reduce gender inequality in education (Government of Estonia, 2021b). 

Policies and measures addressing the gender gaps exist, but could be further consolidated. In an earlier report, the Education Ministry pointed out that Estonia is one of the few EU Member States that does not have a targeted policy to change gender norms and stereotypes in education (Valk, 2017). The report also suggested to take additional action to change gender stereotypes and gender-based behaviour in the school environment and in teacher education. The Education and Social Affairs Ministries collaborate on gender inequality on an ad hoc basis. The government takes measures to promote girls’ participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)⁷, but there are no specific measures to address boys’ difficulties. Rather, existing programmes are seen as also benefiting boys⁸. While some argue that programmes should not be specifically targeted at boys to preserve inclusiveness in education, others maintain that a ‘gender blind’ approach undermines the effectiveness of policies and might reduce boys’ chances to succeed.

Civil society stakeholders also take action. The Estonian Association of Kindergarten Teachers and the Estonian Women’s Associations Roundtable organise a course to raise kindergarten teachers’ awareness of how gender stereotypes influence children’s development and lifestyles (Papp & Kütt, 2022). The organisation HK Unicorn Squad provides free learning resources (including tutorials and rooms) for setting up girls’ tech groups. The aim is to raise girls’ interest in engineering, robotics and natural sciences. Around 2  000 girls between 8 and 14 participate to date.

3. Early childhood education and care

Participation in early childhood education and care increases with children’s age, but remains somewhat below EU average also for older children (see figure 4). Participation of children between 3 years and the starting age of compulsory education (7 years) stood at 91.9% in 2020, somewhat below the EU average of 93% and the national target of 95% by 2035. Among children below the age of 3, 26.7% were enrolled in childcare in 2020 (EU: 32.3%), a decline of 5.1 pps compared to 2019. The participation decline was almost 3 times higher among children at risk of poverty or social exclusion (-11.1 pps) compared to more advantaged children (-3.8 pps). The reasons might partly be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic when fees were waved for parents who were keeping their children at home. The availability of places remains an issue: in 2020, 7% of children between 18 months and 3 years did not get a place (Lang, Sandre, Kallaste, & Sõmer, 2021). Whereas the number of children aged  0-7 is forecast to decline by 11.2% by 2030, which somewhat reduces the pressure to increase the available offer, newly arrived children from Ukraine also attend childcare (1 685 children were enrolled as of 12.9.2022). To support their integration, local governments receive financial support per child and early childhood education and care institutions are provided with training, advice and learning resources. 

A reform aims to improve accessibility and quality of early childhood education and care. According to the draft act, the development of children’s general skills will be based on a national preschool curriculum from age 1.5 onwards (currently from age 3). These general skills cover playing, cognitive and learning, self-regulation and social skills. Local municipalities must offer all 1.5-year-olds a place in childcare within 2 months after receiving a request from the parents. Kindergartens will have to appoint a coordinator for children with special educational needs who organises support services. By 2027, each child group in a kindergarten should have at least one Estonian-speaking teacher to ensure Estonian language learning. The reform also creates a single legal framework for the entire sector, previously fragmented across education, social care and healthcare (Riigikogu, 2022a). The Estonian Association of Early Childhood Education Managers welcomed the draft law and called for its swift implementation. However, it recalled that inclusive education requires skilled staff, which is difficult to find, also given the low salaries in the sector (EAHJÜ, 2022). The Ministry of Social Affairs is leading the development of an action plan on support specialists, after the national auditor found shortcomings in this area (Riigikontroll, 2020). In 2021/22, local governments received EUR 15 million to, inter alia, fund support specialists.

Figure 4: Share of children from age 5 to the starting age of compulsory education participating in early childhood education and care

The long-awaited reform faced hurdles in Parliament. In April 2022, after several consultation rounds with stakeholders, the government submitted the Preschool Education and Childcare Act to Parliament. The draft law was rejected at first reading in June, amid the break-up of the governing coalition. Various Estonian teachers’ and headmasters’ associations expressed their dissatisfaction with the rejection of the draft law (Eesti Haridustöötajate Liit, Eesti Lasteaednike Liit, Eesti Koolijuhtide Ühendus, Eesti Alushariduse Juhtide Ühendus, 2022).

4. School education

Addressing early leaving from education and training remains a priority under the new education strategy for 2035, adopted in late 2021. The early leaving rate was 9.8% in 2021, up from 8.5% in 2020. While this rate is in line with the EU average (9.7%), it can be considered high in the Estonian context: early school leaving and drop-out remain stumbling blocks to solving skills shortages and reducing the gender gaps in education (see sections 2 and 6). The strategy’s first goal is to address the problem of early leaving and drop-out from all levels of education and training. Supported by the EU’s Structural Reform Support Programme, the Education Ministry and the OECD have prepared indicators to measure progress in achieving the strategy’s goals. This should strengthen monitoring practices and steer school improvement by helping local and central governments to take data-based decisions (OECD, 2021).

An action plan aims to improve the working conditions, training and career progression of teachers, and the image of their profession. Teacher shortages and ageing continue and negatively affect teacher qualification levels. School heads can sign 1-year fixed-term contracts with candidates that have at least secondary education if no qualified teacher can be recruited. As a result, in 2020/21, 57% of beginning teachers did not meet the qualification requirements (Ministry of Education and Research, 2022e). These teachers need flexible pathways towards qualification while working. The new action plan takes a broad approach by focusing on: (i) the quality of management and the organisational culture in schools; (ii) initial and in-service training for teachers and support staff; (iii) career and development opportunities; (iv) support throughout the career cycle, including support for beginning teachers; (v) involvement of support staff; and (vi) the attractiveness of the teaching profession. The first activities launched in 2022  are to create additional study places in teacher education and to open a teacher academy (Ministry of Education and Research, 2021b). The academy provides flexible opportunities for initial and continuous teacher education, in cooperation with Tallinn and Tartu universities. The lack of such opportunities and support for novice teachers had been identified as a reason for early drop-out from the profession.

Estonia swiftly put in place support for children who fled Ukraine. The government provided additional study places at all levels of education, seminars for teachers on integrating displaced pupils and information sessions to local authorities. Support for students with special educational needs, language support and psychological help as well as educational counselling are also available to Ukrainian pupils and their parents (Ministry of Education and Research, 2022a). The “Freedom School” in Tallinn opened its doors for several hundred Ukrainian pupils in autumn 2022 (Ministry of Education and Research, 2022c), teaching the Estonian curriculum partly in Ukrainian. The EdTech and the public sector provide Ukrainan language e-learning resources free of charge. 16 525 Ukrainian children and youth under 19 are registered in Estonia, of which 7 272 are enrolled in school (19.9.2022)⁹.

Measures to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on learning outcomes and mental health continue, while first ideas emerge to maintain the education system’s resilience. The Education Ministry supports schools to bridge learning gaps: additional funding covers individual consultations, new diagnostic tools to identify learning gaps, additional lessons and the hiring of assistant teachers. In cooperation with the association of school psychologists, a free helpline was opened for students, educators and parents (Ministry of Education and Research, 2022d) (Riigikogu, 2022b). The education system will have to remain flexible and resilient also after the pandemic. A study suggested specific ways to help achieve this: (i) EdTech data could be better used for monitoring and feedback (learning analytics); (ii) teachers must receive assistance in developing a hybrid or digital pedagogy; and (iii) schools should provide systematic opportunities to acquire socio-emotional skills, which are important for successful learning, as the pandemic showed (Mägi, 2021).

Efforts to improve the teaching and learning of Estonian continue. The education strategy and the Estonian language strategy (Government of Estonia, 2021b) set the framework for Estonian language development. The education strategy envisages that 95% of lower secondary school graduates with Estonian as a second language will have a B1 level by 2035 (in 2019, this was 67.8%)¹⁰. The government provides funding to: (i) support pupils to learn Estonian; (ii) develop teachers’ skills in teaching in multilingual classrooms; and (iii) help minority language students to learn their mother tongue better. The new government’s coalition agreement from July 2022 aims to complete the transition to an Estonian-speaking education system already by 2030.

5. Vocational education and training and adult learning

The education strategy addresses challenges in vocational education and training (VET), especially developing work-based learning and better integration of general and upper secondary education by 2035. In 2020, 39.9% of upper secondary pupils were enrolled in VET programmes¹¹ (compared to an EU average of 48.7%). The number of VET students doing apprenticeships is increasing: in 2020/21, around 9% of VET students and 15% of VET graduates had done apprenticeships (up from 12.4% of graduates in 2019; the target being 21% by 2025). The introduction of a compulsory professional exam developed by employers and valued by them might have helped to increase this share. Young learners can enrol in preparatory studies enabling a flexible and student-oriented choice of the professional curriculum. Newly arrived students from Ukraine are also frequently enrolled in these preparatory studies. The purpose of integrating general and vocational secondary education is to add flexibility to education and to develop skills needed in the labor market; a common secondary education standard will be developed. The national implementation plan of the Council Recommendation on VET is linked to the education strategy for 2035 and its VET-related priorities and targets.

Distance learning in VET during the pandemic was challenging for most learners, but offered some opportunities as well. A recent study found that the experience of distance learning motivated teachers to use digital tools, to improve their digital skills, and to collaborate more effectively. For learners, distance learning was challenging: it was less effective compared to classroom learning and made acquiring new skills more difficult (Loogma & Sirk, 2021).

The recovery and resilience plan helps develop digital and green skills in VET. The support provided to the digital transition includes the development of VET curricula and micro-credentials as well as the renewal of professional standards and skills profiles. Workers’ knowledge and skills related to the green economy are strengthened by updating the content of higher education and VET programmes, in-service training and retraining, and by introducing new technologies. The planning for training and mapping the skills needed is based on the analyses by the jobs and skills forecasting system OSKA. Professional standards are reviewed to add green skills.

The education strategy also aims to increase adults’ participation in learning. It will do so by providing flexible learning pathways and additional retraining opportunities. The continued monitoring of skills needs will ensure that the acquired skills meet the needs of the labour market and support high value-added activities (Government of Estonia, 2021a). The aim is that by 2030, 52.3% of adults participate in learning every year, contributing to the EU target of 60%. Additionally, Estonia set a target of 25% of adults having participated in learning in the last month (this was 20% in 2019), to be reached by 2035. Indicators will be developed to monitor participation in informal learning. In the short run, the main priority for Estonia will be to restore training participation levels across various societal groups.

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted participation in learning. Among 25-64-year-olds, participation fell from 19.6% in 2019 to 16.6% in 2020 but recovered to 18.4% in 2021. According to Statistics Estonia, recovery is slower among men, younger age groups, non-Estonians and people with higher education. During the pandemic, more online learning opportunities were created (Rosenblad, et al., 2020). The courses offered by the Education Ministry were primarily targeted at low-skilled people or people needing reskilling (Ministry of Education and Research, 2021a).

Reforms and investments included  in the Estonian recovery and resilience plan support skills development. Secondary legislation setting out the terms of support for the development of digital and green skills entered into force: both employed and unemployed people can upskill and retrain in ICT and have skills acquired outside formal learning recognised. The My First Job scheme and the Youth Guarantee action plan contribute to reducing youth unemployment.

6. Higher education

Tertiary education attainment is high, but men and those living in rural areas lag behind. In 2021, 43.2% of Estonians between 25 and 34 held a university degree (EU average: 41.2%), a 3.1 pps increase from 2020. Despite this relatively high rate, some disparities persist: in addition to the gender gap (see section 2), the rural-urban gap stood at 22.2 pps in 2021 (21.8pps in the EU). A recent study found that making tuition free in 2013 did not attract more people from rural areas to higher education. Their lower participation might rather be the result of peer effects, information asymmetry and insufficient financial support: rural families have fewer peers who go to university and are less well informed about the benefits of higher education, and the available needs-based grants might be too low (Põder & Lauri, 2021). Another reason could lie in the challenge of combining work and studies: more than half of students worked regularly in 2018-2020, a share clearly above the OECD average (Arenguseire Keskus, 2022). While gaining experience can be a motivation for working, 45% of students said that they could not afford to study without their paid job (Hauschildt, Gwosć, Schirmer, & Wartenbergh-Cras, 2021).

High drop-out rates and low graduation on time pose challenges to the labour market – and to universities’ finances. According to the education strategy, the population’s labour market potential is not achieved due to high drop-out rates from higher and vocational education (Government of Estonia, 2021a). While drop-out has decreased in recent years, it is still high (the average drop-out rate during the first study year fell from 22.3% to 18.4% between 2016 and 2021 and the overall drop-out rate fell from 16.1% to 11.7% in the same period). Graduation within nominal time is one of the performance indicators that determine the amount of universities’ funding. To prevent drop-out and increase graduation on time, the Education Ministry encourages universities to provide innovative teaching tools and pedagogies, student-centred approaches to learning, support services, in particular to newcomers, and flexible study arrangements that better allow students to combine work and studies. 

Universities ask for public funding to increase to 1.5% of gross domestic product, from the current 1.1%. Public funding for universities has substantially decreased over the last decade (Bennetot Pruvot, Estermann, & Stoyanova, 2021). Since January 2022, universities have refused to sign their annual agreements with the state, asking for a substantial funding increase – an unprecedented situation. Government and higher education institutions are also discussing the indicators for the performance-based funding (20% of activity-based funding). 

How to make higher education accessible to many, while ensuring high quality and low costs, is part of a wider debate. While the government does not envisage fundamental changes to the funding model, it is taking measures to create possibilities for universities to increase their revenues: in May 2022, it proposed to provide students with incentives to finish their degrees on time (Ministry of Education and Research, 2022g). Tuition fees can already be collected from students enrolled part-time or doing micro-credentials and for English-language programmes. Some warn that this could lead to Estonian losing its importance as a research language, and that micro-credentials might be affordable only for some – even though flexible learning opportunities are urgently needed. The University of Tartu concluded that tuition should remain free, and that a large-scale, state-guaranteed, income-contingent student loan system should be introduced (state-guaranteed loans exist, but grants are more widespread) (Silm, Tiitsaar, & Valk, 2022). Already in 2019, the National Audit Office had concluded that the higher education funding model was unsustainable, and had called for a reform (Riigikontroll, 2019). 

A PhD studies reform aims to offer attractive career paths to researchers and strengthen university-business cooperation. In 2022, Parliament adopted a doctoral studies reform, amending the Higher Education Act and the Study Allowances and Study Loans Act. PhD students will no longer receive grants; they will sign job contracts as junior researchers, which entitles them to social protection. They can also study for a ‘transfer of knowledge doctoral degree’ if they work for a company that has a partnership with their university. Such degrees should strengthen university-business cooperation and allow researchers to continue to work for the company after graduating. Pursuing a PhD without a research contract remains possible too. The reform also made the terms and conditions of student loans at private banks more favourable for students (Ministry of Education and Research, 2022b).

Annex I: Key indicators sources

Annex II: Structure of the education system