Speaking on Raadio 2's morning show, Kallas said all adults have a responsibility to support children and young people throughout their education. She said responsibility for raising a child is shared by parents, teachers and specialists from local governments, the Ministry of Education and Research and support services.

"There really is an imbalance, not only in Estonia but more broadly in Western society, between parental responsibility and teachers' responsibility," the minister said.

Kallas acknowledged that the responsibilities involved in supporting children currently fall primarily on teachers.

"Teachers today are expected to make sure children get enough sleep to be able to concentrate on their schoolwork, that they eat properly and have healthy habits. They also have to make sure children get enough exercise, are not addicted to social media and do not play too many computer games. Teachers have to check whether they have brought their notebooks and have their clothes for physical education," Kallas explained.

Kallas compared the current situation with her own school days when parents would be called to the school over such problems and expected to take responsibility.

"Today, all of this is the responsibility of the school and the teacher. Teachers are effectively expected to be both parents and teachers at the same time. In my view, that boundary is out of balance as well and parents' expectations of teachers are unrealistic," she said.

Kallas said that boundary needs to be shifted.

"A teacher's job is to teach children their subject and certain skills and competencies, but it is not their job to be responsible for raising a child 24/7," Kallas said.

There are currently around 1,600 students in Estonia who still do not know which school they will attend this fall. Kallas said around half of them have a school place but have not yet been entered into the system.

"Let's imagine that 800 of those children across Estonia are children whom no adult has ever taken an interest in. No one has wanted to deal with them — neither their parents nor the other adults around them," Kallas said.

"Today, they are in a situation where we are all tossing them around like a hot potato and looking for someone to blame: whether it is the City of Tallinn, the Ministry of Education and Research or the education minister personally," she added.

Kallas said looking for someone to blame would not resolve the situation.

"As a society, we have to acknowledge that we have been failing these children for quite some time. Now, they have finally come onto our radar, we are talking about them and trying to address their situation," she added.

Minister: Some children do not even know they have to attend school in the fall

Kallas stressed that it is the responsibility of local governments to identify and locate children who do not know where they will be studying this fall.

"Out of curiosity, I personally called 10 local governments yesterday and asked whether they had been looking for these children. Most of them had. They have called them and know where these children are," she said.

Kallas highlighted several issues affecting efforts to provide school places.

"For example, there are Ukrainian children whose names are on the list, but when they answer the phone, they say they are in Ukraine and are not sure whether they will return," she said.

At the same time, Kallas said there are children whom officials have been unable to reach at all, as well as those who answer the phone but are unaware that they are supposed to attend school this fall.

"For example, in one smaller town, the city government has said, 'Come and see us tomorrow and we'll discuss together what the child wants to do, what their grades are and how they can continue their education,'" Kallas said.

She said officials have encountered a wide range of circumstances involving these children and this is the first time their situations are actually being addressed.

"Perhaps the lesson for next year is that before we hand children their basic school graduation certificates and send them on their way, we should check whether they have actually applied anywhere to continue their education," Kallas said.

Kallas stressed that adults should pay closer attention to children's plans for the future, as many may be uncertain about what to do next. She said there are also children who have never even been asked what they want to do next.

"We should be providing career counseling and discussing children's futures with them while they are still in basic school, rather than waiting until they have walked out the school doors and then starting to look for them in the fall after summer vacation," Kallas said.

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