Representatives of the Estonian Museums Association have appealed to Education Minister Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200), saying that of the 40 museums that responded to a survey conducted late last year, nearly half have seen the number of booked programs fall by up to 30 percent and in 16 percent of cases by more than 40 percent.

According to the museums, the decline is due to the Ministry of Education and Research's guidance document, "Donations and Unreasonable Funding Practices in General Education Schools," which emphasizes that activities carried out under the national curriculum must be free of charge for students and that school operators are responsible for funding them.

The museums want the ministry to clearly confirm to schools that curriculum-supporting field trips are a natural part of instruction and to provide more detailed guidance on how to organize them lawfully and effectively.

"In cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, a sufficiently funded and sustainable support measure must be developed to ensure equal access to curriculum-related cultural visits for all students, regardless of their place of residence," museum representatives wrote.

Iti Niinemets, head of the NUKU Museum in Tallinn, also confirmed that school bookings have declined.

"There are fewer bookings for March and April than usual. Most reservations are for kindergarten groups, but bookings that combine both a theater performance and a museum visit can be counted on one hand," Niinemets said.

According to Niinemets, there may be a link to the Ministry of Education and Research's directive.

"Last week there was a meeting with teachers and their uncertainty about how to act in the current situation stood out," Niinemets said.

"We have offered schools guidance on how to distinguish what is part of instruction and what is not. Everything related to the curriculum must be free of charge. Schools can establish voluntary donation funds — for example, if a cultural events fund has been created and parents or companies have donated to it, then those resources can be used to finance field trips, which are then funded by the school for all students," said Hele Liiv-Tellmann, chief expert in general education at the Ministry of Education and Research.

If the idea to create such a fund comes from parents, the fund can be expected to receive financing and all children will be able to attend the theater, Liiv-Tellmann added.

Liiv-Tellmann acknowledged that state support for helping schools attend cultural events is limited. "If we look at the situation in the country, there is a shortage of funds everywhere. We recommend involving private sponsors," she said.

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