Significantly fewer children starting school this year
Families across Estonia will start applying for first-grade school places for their children this month, but data from Estonia's two biggest cities show that the number of new starters will be considerably smaller this year.
Krista Keedus, head of education management at the Tallinn education department, said the number of children in Tallinn is declining.
"This year, there are about 400 fewer children who should start school than last year, and more children are graduating from basic school than we have entering school," she said.
Nearly 4,600 children will reach compulsory school age in Tallinn this year, but so far, the Tallinn Education Department has received around 2,900 applications. The deadline has been extended until March 29.
"There are those who want to submit their application right at the beginning, but there are also those who have not yet joined the process. Today we see that we need to extend it, because we want to know for all 4,600 children which school they will attend," Keedus said.
Places must be assigned by May 20.
Similar pattern in Tartu
Tartu City education department said the number of students in basic schools will decrease by nearly 300 in the new school year, meaning that 1,200 children will start first grade.
From March 15, parents can see the schools assigned based on residence and make their choice.
"If, for whatever reason, that school does not suit them, they can submit a request to transfer the child, and we will satisfy it if possible. In recent years, when 1,200–1,300 children have started school, about 50–60 parents change the school assigned by residence," said Katrin Parv, analyst at the Tartu education department.
Too many applicants
However, some areas are seeing a boost in numbers. Kajar Lember, mayor of Kambja Municipality in Tartu County, said the number of students there is growing in line with population growth.
This year, there were more applicants than places at a school in Tõrvandi, which opened 18 months ago. Children received a spot based on the speed of registration.
Lember said there are discussions about the fairness of registration.
He said that the school offers engineering or technical studies at the basic school level and it is only fair to open places to all candidates in the area.
"We have again reached the conclusion that if we turn Tõrvandi into a district school and the assumption is that you live near the school building, then what happens is that far more people will register their residence in this area than there are today," Lember said.
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Editor: Helen Wright, Marko Tooming
