The idea has been discussed for years, but has stalled due to lack of funding.

Last Wednesday, Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) sent a new proposal to the relevant parties.

The change is primarily aimed at bilingual families. Currently, only one native language can be recorded in the population register.

Kätlin Kõverik, language policy adviser at the Ministry of Education, said the need for the change is steadily increasing, especially for children in education.

"These data are also collected in Estonia through the census and the last two have allowed people to indicate two or more native languages. But this does not provide a comprehensive overview, because censuses take place only every 10 years, not frequently enough," she said.

However, the much greater need is in the context of education. Every child has the right to preserve their native language. To support native language instruction and, if necessary, additional Estonian language learning, it would be good to have an overview of this," Kõverik added.

The advisor explained that many schools already collect information on children's language skills in the education information system. However, she said the data should be consolidated in one place.

"Rather than having some information in the population register and taking certain data from there, such as place of residence, while asking separately about native language through the school's education information system. This can also create confusion among parents about where the data come from and which data entitle a child to specific support measures," Kõverik outlined.

Defining nationality

In addition to native language, the updated population register would also allow individuals to define their own nationality.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise pointed out that in Estonia, there are cases where the parents are of differing nationalities, the child grows up in Estonia, and the home language is Estonian.

"Then in the population register, that young person may wish to indicate that they are Estonian and that their native language is Estonian, that this is the language they are most proficient in. So this is a matter of personal identity, where it has been scientifically and internationally agreed that when such questions are asked, a person should be able to give an honest answer, without having to deny part of their identity," Madise said.

The changes would not require many regulatory amendments, as the bulk of the work is related to IT, Kätlin Kõverik from the Ministry of Education added.

"However, the development work is quite costly, and the issue now being addressed is where to find the necessary funds and how to organize it," the advisor explained.

The Ministry of the Interior has not yet taken a position on the proposal, and could not comment on the cost or time frame for implementation. However, its previous estimate suggested that the work could be completed within a year.

Madise also pointed out that the Ministry of the Interior is already overhauling the population register and changes may not fit into its current plans.

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