Tallinn, ministry divided on school International Baccalaureate admissions
Tallinn and Estonia's Education Ministry are at odds over expanding International Baccalaureate (IB) enrollment for returning families at Tallinn English College.
The globally recognized IB curriculum is designed to provide continuity for children whose families move between countries.
This year, Tallinn English College (TIK) received 13 enrollment applications from returning foreign service and defense families but was able to offer enrollment to only six as classes were already full.
Tallinn Deputy Mayor Andrei Kante (Center) said the school could not confirm enrollment availability before late June because it did not yet know which current IB students would be leaving before the start of the new school year.
He added that TIK also lacks the space to open additional IB classes this fall.
The dispute centers on a 2025 administrative agreement between the city and the Ministry of Education and Research.
Tallinn argues the agreement prevents the city from increasing class sizes beyond the standard 24-student limit, despite Estonian law allowing for this in exceptional cases, and instead wants the ministry to fund two IB classes at every grade level, even if they are not filled to capacity.
The city said the school could have been more flexible if the ministry did not require every available spot in all classrooms to be filled.
Roundtable to convene in September
Ott Oja, head of the ministry's Early and Basic Education Department, said the agreement should be read together with the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act, which also allows schools to increase class size limits or combine classes when enrollment is low.
The ministry's intent, he added, has always been that IB classes admit up to 24 students, but if the target group exceeds that number, schools can increase class size under the procedure prescribed by law.
The Education Ministry also said IB places should remain reserved for the program's intended target group rather than being filled by other students.
Because IB education is a national responsibility, Tallinn has proposed convening a roundtable with the relevant ministries, state agencies and government to find a long-term solution.
The Ministry of Education confirmed in its response that invitations and further info will be sent out in September.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Aili Vahtla
