Estonia expects around 800 basic school graduates to skip further education

Estonia's Ministry of Education and Research says the exact number of basic school graduates who won't continue their education will only be known closer to mid-September. According to the ministry, around 800 such graduates were recorded in previous years, and the same figure is forecast for this year, since the number of basic school graduates has remained stable recently.

Tallinn deputy mayor Andrei Kante said last week that a couple of weeks before the school year begins, almost a fifth of the capital's basic school graduates still have no school place. In Tartu, as of last Friday, around 100 young people either hadn't found a school place, hadn't looked for one, or had left Estonia altogether — including, for example, Ukrainian refugees. However, Riho Raave, head of the Tartu city government's education department, noted the figure keeps changing because supplementary admissions are still ongoing at some gymnasiums and vocational schools, including Tartu Art School and the Tartu vocational college known as VOCCOS.

Because of this ongoing supplementary admission process, the ministry also lacks final data on how many young people have failed to secure further study places after basic school. Külli Solo, head of the ministry's compulsory education project, said clearer figures may emerge by September 10, when schools are required to enter enrollment data into the EHIS education information system. She noted that many schools are not doing this promptly during the admission process itself.

The goal of the compulsory education reform is to reduce the share of basic school graduates with low education levels to 5% by 2035, though officials acknowledge this can never reach zero, since some students simply won't continue studying regardless.

This school year will, for the first time, offer preparatory training for young people under 18 who need support transitioning after basic school. Raave said that in Tartu, both the Art School and VOCCOS have already filled all state-ordered preparatory training places, suggesting the state may need to create additional spots at both institutions. A fuller picture of how many young people actually enter preparatory training is expected in the first weeks of September. Officials say preparatory training is meant as a last resort for the roughly 800 graduates who annually don't continue studying, while hoping most will still remain within the formal education system.