Schools scramble for homeroom teachers amid persistent shortage
Estonian schools are struggling with a chronic teacher shortage. In addition to subject teachers, schools are still looking for homeroom teachers at the start of the academic year. Some new teachers quit shortly after starting.
In the Õpetajate Leht newspaper job listings alone, 12 openings for homeroom teachers were still posted last week. The problem is somewhat more acute in Tallinn and Ida-Viru County because the transition to Estonian‑language education and the new C1 language requirement for teachers make it even harder to find qualified candidates.
Often positions are technically filled, but classes are taught by substitute teachers without proper qualifications or by employees on fixed‑term contracts.
Tallinn Läänemere High School is also looking for homeroom teachers. Director Deniss Presnetsov said the main obstacle is not language skills but the lack of qualifications. Interest in becoming a homeroom teacher has been relatively low, and those who have applied have not been suitable.
"They are not qualified teachers, they either have a bachelor's degree or come from a completely different field. But when we think about elementary school, that is the foundation, and you really need to know didactics," Presnetsov said.
Tallinn University admits about 25 full‑time and 25 part‑time students to the homeroom teacher program each year. Competition is strong, with an average of five applicants per full‑time spot and ten per part‑time spot, said Tallinn University primary education professor Inge Timoštšuk. In recent years, the university has significantly increased admissions for the homeroom teacher specialty.
Presnetsov said schools face a recurring problem: once a student working as a homeroom teacher completes a master's degree, they leave the job.
"The school nurtures them, teaches them, both students and teachers support them. And sometimes it happens that the teacher finishes university and then goes somewhere else. The resources spent simply disappear," the Läänemere High School director said.
Timoštšuk said homeroom teachers often leave the profession for three main reasons.
"Homeroom teachers have quite strong subject‑area preparation. Because we have a shortage of subject teachers, homeroom teachers move to higher grade levels to help ease that shortage. And fewer remain in the younger grades," Timoštšuk said.
If moving into subject teaching keeps the teacher within the school system, the second reason — the perceived workload — pushes teachers to leave the profession entirely.
"Our major and minor reforms, such as changes in grading systems or curricula, and implementing them — teachers perceive these as extra work. Naturally, that can create stress. But not only that, we have more and more students with special needs in the same classroom, and we also lack support staff to help them."
Teachers also leave the profession early because behavioral issues that can only be solved through cooperation with families are increasing. Cooperation with families is becoming more difficult because children's backgrounds vary widely.
Presnetsov added that the labor market shows teacher salaries are not competitive. Läänemere High School offers a gross salary of €2,500 in its job listing, which includes homeroom duties and some work in the after‑school program. Presnetsov said schools are already competing to poach employees.
"If I offered €3,000 or more and a 30‑hour workweek, people would definitely come, but again — what would the quality be and how? Only through workload adjustments can such an option be offered," the school director said.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Argo Ideon
