Senior adviser for early childhood education at the Ministry of Education and Research, Maila Rajamets, said that the number of children in kindergartens has declined across the country.

There were just under 67,000 kindergarten children last school year, and Rajamets said the decline is likely due to falling birth rates.

Head of the education department at Tartu City Government, Riho Raave, said there will be 15 fewer groups opening from the new school year, but no kindergarten will close.

"Since enrollment is still ongoing, it is unclear how many places will be filled by the start of the school year," Raave said.

He added that kindergartens are already aware of the decision, and some staff have been made redundant.

The future outlook is not very bright either. "Since we assume that birth rates will not increase in the coming years, we forecast that by 2030 there will be 1,400 fewer children in Tartu," Raave said.

At the Krõll kindergarten in Annelinn, Tartu, the number of children has decreased significantly.

Kindergarten director Piret Koiduaru said the number has fallen from 203 children to around 160, and two groups will close in the fall. As a result, five staff members had to be laid off, including two assistant teachers and three teachers.

Koiduaru said that there are several kindergartens located right next to each other in Annelinn, and there are simply not enough children for each one.

Raave noted that across the city, there are no waiting lists for kindergarten places in Tartu. If there are any, they are only for a few specific cases, and only when a parent wants to place their child in a particular kindergarten.

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