Tallinn authorities are considering the possibility of suing Estonia’s Ministry of Education and Research over new obligations for municipalities concerning individual support for young people who do not have a place to study. This was stated by Tallinn Deputy Mayor Andrei Kante.
According to ERR News, as of Monday, Tallinn had 761 young basic school graduates whose plans for continuing their education remained unknown.
New obligations for municipalities
From September 1, local governments will automatically begin working with young people who do not have a place to study. According to Kante, this will require an individual approach: contacting each family and beginning consultations.
The initial contact will be made by employees of Tallinn’s Education Department. If they are unable to help a child find a place at school, child protection specialists will be involved. The deputy mayor called the administrative burden on the city significant and recalled that, during the preparation of the reform, the ministry stated that there would be no additional burden on local authorities.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to the city’s assessment, nearly 600 students will require such individual support. Kante noted that Tallinn will need at least four or five new officials for this work. He did not specify what form a lawsuit might take but did not rule out going to court.
Places in preparatory education
Kante said that Tallinn and other municipalities need more places in preparatory education. According to him, the city is ready to open such places not only at Tallinn Applied College: other educational institutions have also expressed interest.
At the same time, the city needs clarity on whether the state will commission additional places. The creation of new places is also constrained by a shortage of teachers: to hire them, the deputy mayor said, a signal from the ministry is needed.
Kante supported the compulsory education reform itself, as it drew attention to young people who leave the education system after basic school. However, he believes that the role of basic schools should be strengthened in order to identify problems earlier and not lose a student’s connection with the school.
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