The Ministry of Education has developed a four-stage career model, with a designated minimum salary coefficient for each stage which will be introduced in 2026.

The minimum salary coefficient for a qualified new or junior teacher will be 1.0, which in current terms would correspond to a monthly gross salary of €1,820. The minimum salary coefficients for senior and master teachers, meanwhile, will be 1.1 and 1.3, respectively.

But some teachers told ERR they do not agree with the proposed salaries and say the framework is unclear.

Alla Vinitšenko, lead teacher of social subjects at Tõrvandi School in Tartu County, supports the idea of a career model that would give more experienced teachers higher salaries. However, she does not understand why a minimum salary was written into the draft.

"Students studying for a master's degree who are already working in schools are actually exceptionally capable. I've seen them work alongside me over the years, and most likely, a master's student working as a teacher is at the peak of their professional capabilities, even when compared with someone who's been teaching for 30 to 40 years. They are much more up to date on recent research, learning skills, competence development, and so on," Vinitšenko said.

She believes there are fewer concerns about newly qualified teachers, and many more about more experienced teachers who are reluctant to further their training. Vinitšenko said the career model should motivate educators to continue developing professionally.

"They maintain discipline, but at the same time, their inexperience and lack of pedagogical knowledge may be more harmful than helpful to students. If they measure their performance by comparing themselves to how they taught 20 or 30 years ago, that no longer holds up today," she said.

Katrin Kaarama, a student training to become a physical education teacher at the University of Tartu, said the current outlook has made many of her classmates question whether pursuing a master's degree is worth it.

"It's true, right now we are in the final year of our bachelor's studies, meaning we'll become coaches, but most of us still want to become PE teachers and continue on to the master's program. But then people came to school looking frustrated, saying, 'Why on earth should I even bother?' This prospect is definitely very demotivating. I worked as a PE teacher for a year. Thinking back on that time, I was not living badly, but if I were to receive the salary now being proposed under the new law, I would not exactly throw myself into it with enthusiasm," Kaarama said.

Sandra Sagar, the principal of Kambja Ignatsi Jaagu School in Tartu County, is most concerned about two aspects. One involves career changers.

"A person has worked elsewhere, is maybe 45 years old, wants to do something new, has found that teaching is their calling, and then they come to work at a school for Estonia's minimum wage, when previously they may have earned €2,000 in a company. They will not come because they need to make a living. We are currently taking away the opportunity for a very large group of people to think differently, to do something differently, we are making teachers and the education system a completely closed environment," she said.

Sagar's second concern is that, in its current form, the driving force behind the career model is salary differentiation, not a substantive approach.

"To me, a career model would look more like actually giving teachers opportunities for self-development. I would give them the chance to do other things at school. Not that you have to reach a certain level or rank to get a raise, and that becomes your so-called career model. That's not a career model — that's salary differentiation, which many school leaders already practice anyway, myself included," said Sagar.

Liina Kersna (Reform), chair of the Riigikogu Cultural Affairs Committee and former minister of education, noted that several concerns raised by the teaching community were addressed in the draft legislation.

She pointed to a new amendment which students in teacher training, as well as teachers who hold or are pursuing a master's degree, will receive the minimum teacher salary.

They will also be offered three-year contracts instead of the current one-year contracts and be placed on the beginner teacher level. This means they will be guaranteed one-quarter of their working time for professional development and have access to a mentor.

This article was updated to add a comment from Liina Kersna.

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