New funding model will harmonize vocational teacher wages
A bill to harmonize the basis on which vocational school teachers are paid is being coordinated with stakeholders.
Vocational schools are an alternative to the upper level of higher education, Gümnaasium, and provide a way of learning a trade.
Over the next two years, vocational education will receive additional funding – €5 million in 2026 and €8 million in 2027, Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said.
Additionally, an under-preparation vocational education funding model would add a 20 percent differentiation fund to the future salary fund for vocational education teachers.
"We are making this funding model fairer and more similar to general education schools, so that vocational schools get a teacher salary fund, which is the minimum plus the differentiation fund. They will be able to differentiate teachers' pay according to professionalism, workloads, and now also career levels," Kallas told Aktuaalne kaamera.
"Vocational education has been underfunded for a very long time, so these resources are available to us today, we have reallocated leftovers from elsewhere. But we have an additional request submitted for 2028 and 2029. In one year, eight million more in additional funds is needed and in the other year, 11 million. Through this, the costs of the vocational education reform will then be covered," Kallas added.
Currently, teachers working in vocational education do not receive equivalent pay to their colleagues in general education schools, and the current vocational education funding model dates back to 2017.
Inflation has eroded this model, which also prevents teachers working in vocational education from getting pay on par with other teachers, said Kuno Rooba, chair of the Estonian association for the advancement of vocational education and principal of Rakvere ametikool vocational school.
For teachers working in general education schools, the differentiation fund currently amounts to, for example, 20 percent, which is paid in addition to the teacher's minimum salary.
According to Rooba, vocational schools need more money than at present, also for maintaining support staff, coordinating internships, and other such things.
"We have a case happening at the present moment where adults can no longer study for free. Certainly, from this, a certain resource will be freed up, which can be used purposefully for teaching young people, but we must take into account that with the change of compulsory schooling age, with the reform, in fact, the number of young people, the number of students and children that we have to start teaching in school, will grow. With today's draft bill, the entire financing related to support staff is lightly reflected," Rooba said.
The bill is currently going through its coordination round and, if it becomes law, could enter into force next year.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mirjam Mäekivi
