Estonian schools increasingly refuse to host children's hobby clubs, author warns
Schools across Estonia are more often barring after-school hobby clubs from their buildings this autumn. An author argues that directors' workload should be eased and notes that the law gives pupils the right to use their school's premises free of charge.
This autumn, a growing number of schools in Estonia are refusing to allow children's hobby education clubs to operate in their buildings after lessons. The issue is raised by Rasmus Kits in an opinion piece on the Russian-language portal of ERR, Estonia's public broadcaster. According to him, the programmes, teachers, children and parents are all there, but the clubs are simply not permitted to meet on school premises. The affected activities include technical clubs, sports and music, which the author considers as necessary for pupils' development as lessons themselves.
Why schools close their doors
One of the main reasons, in the author's view, is the overload on schools. Tasks keep multiplying while staff are lacking. He lists the full transition to Estonian-language instruction, continuing difficulties with inclusive education and the need to find teachers at a time when prices rise faster than teacher pay.
At the same time, the number of providers of extracurricular education in Estonia is growing, and because the field is not strictly regulated, the quality of services varies. The author says that a single negative experience can lead a school director to give up on clubs altogether.
What the law says
The author cites the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act, which states that a pupil has the right to use their school's structures, premises, library, and teaching, sports, technical and other resources free of charge for extracurricular activity, under the school's internal rules. He stresses that the words "free of charge" mean pupils cannot be made, directly or indirectly, to pay rent. Pupils also have the right to learn about clubs and to have club leaders admitted to the school building.
Advice for parents and school leaders
He urges parents to be demanding and to consider whether they are themselves reliable partners for schools. School leaders, he suggests, should check whether a club organiser belongs to a relevant hobby-education association, since such bodies, in his words, bring together the most responsible part of the sector. In the longer term, he says, the field needs attention at state level, including the question of whether diverse hobby education is available within 30 minutes of every child's home. He hopes the topic will also be addressed in the upcoming Riigikogu (Estonian parliament) elections.
