11. Education

A good education is very important as it gives you and your children an opportunity to be more successful at finding a job and to have a better quality of life. Estonians value education highly. The Estonian education system provides people of any age or educational level with various opportunities to continue their educational path and to retraining. The education should start already at the early age. In Estonia, it is very recommended for children from age 1,5-7 years old to go to the kindergarten. Even if they don't speak Estonian language yet, they will learn it quickly in the kindergarten and adapt to Estonian life faster and improve their social skills needed for school. In the kindergarten they can socialize with their peers and prepare for the school – school will be much easier for them if they already know at least some basics. It can be difficult to get a spot in a kindergarten, so you should register your child as soon as possible for kindergarten. Kindergarten is not free, but there is a possibility to get some financial aid from your local municipality. If you want your child to do well in kindergarten and school, keep contact with your child's teachers. They spend many hours per day with your child, so they can tell you what your child is doing successfully and what do they need to improve. Children aged 7-17 must attend school. The school year in Estonia starts on the 1st of September. In the beginning of the school year, the teachers will let you know what things your child would need in the kindergarten or school - like clothes, shoes, books, stationary etc. You should try to provide everything asked. During the school year, children have five school holidays: a week in the end of October, two weeks during in the end of December, a week in the end of February, a week in the end of April and more than two months in the summer. Students usually finish the grade by the middle of the June. Education in Estonia is free, unless it’s a private school/university, English curriculum in a university or you study part-time. Paid education is not necessarily better than free education in Estonia. The language of instruction is mostly Estonian. However, there are some bilingual schools that offer education 60% in Estonian and 40% in Russian. Additionally, there are few international schools or schools which offer English IB curriculum. If your child doesn’t speak Estonian when enrolling in school, the school must organize Estonian language lessons for them to supplement the regular

curriculum. In most cases, your child would start with an individual study plan and will be integrated to the regular curriculum step-by-step. There is no single rule in which grade your child should continue studies in Estonia if they have already gone to school in some other country. Schools can decide which grade is the most suitable one according to their opinion, but you can discuss this question with the school and give them your reasons. The majority of schools have adopted an e-school service (www.ekool.eu or www.stuudium.com), which enables you to follow your child’s academic progress online and contact their teachers. Many schools have also extra curricula activities where children can participate – free of charge or with a fee. Meals are offered in the kindergarten and during the school day. In some cases, it might be for a fee, in other cases it is free of charge. If your child has a special diet, you should inform the teacher. Sometimes the canteens can provide according to your child’s needs, but sometimes you should pack their lunch for them. Check directly with the kindergarten or school. In every school there is a school nurse and a psychologist. Your child can visit them, if he/she is not feeling well. School nurses usually perform the yearly health check-ups. If you are under 18 years old, you must have the permission of a parent or guardian to continue your studies. In addition to usual schools, there are some Sunday schools organized by different national culture societies in Estonia. Sunday schools enable children to study their own language and culture and keep ties with their ethnicity. More info at: www.integratsioon.ee/rahvusvahemuste-kultuuriuhingutetegevus If you wish to continue or begin your higher education in Estonia, and your documents proving your previous education are from outside Estonia, contact the ENIC-NARIC (www.archimedes.ee/enic) office and submit your documents. This institution will confirm the correspondence of your documents with the Estonian educational system. If you wish individual counselling on education or career, contact the nearest Rajaleidja counselling centre (www.rajaleidja.ee). The counselling centre can also assess if your 7-year-old is ready to start schooling or could stay in kindergarten for another year. Here is the overview of Estonian education system:

KINDERGARTEN

Children in Estonia usually attend kindergarten to acquire pre-school education when they are between 1,5-7 years old. This stage is voluntary, but highly recommended for the development of a child. Kindergarten groups are usually in Estonian or Russian language.

BASIC EDUCATION

Basic education is a privilege and obligation and it is free of charge in Estonia. It is

compulsory for all children to attend school full-time from the age of 7 to 17 until they have basic education completed. It is parents' responsibility to ensure that their

children attends to school. If your child is absent, you must inform the school about it to avoid any problems.

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL (HIGH SCHOOL/ GYMNASIUM)

Provides a general secondary education (3 years). It is not compulsory, but highly recommended. You can choose whichever gymnasium you want to attend as it is not limited by your place of residence. Often there are admissions examinations.

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL COMBINED WITH VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Provides a general secondary education and some vocational skills (3 years). Good option to have practical education and secondary education, which allows to continue studies in higher education institutions

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

You can continue your education (no matter whether it's from a high school or vocational school) in a vocational schools. It would take 0,5-4 years depending on the curriculum.

UNIVERSITY

Bachelor's degree (3-4 years), Master's degree (1-2 years) and PhD (3-4 years). You can start your studies in a university no matter how old you are. The main requirement is that you have a high school diploma.

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

Which provides both vocational education (and a specific profession) and a general secondary education (33,5 years). Good option to have practical education and secondary education, which allows to continue studies in higher education institutions.

APPLIED HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Degree in an applied higher education institution or a college associated with a university (3-4,5 years)

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

Which provides only vocational education without secondary education (2 years). As there is no secondary education included, it is more difficult to continue studies in a higher education institution afterwards. If students would want to go to university after graduation, they would need to learn everything required in the secondary school curriculum and do the state exams.

If you are an adult and you are interested in continuing or starting studies, you have the following opportunities. We recommend you use this opportunity as this can advance your options in the labor market.

Complete an interrupted basic or secondary education by studying at adult school

• Some knowledge of Estonian is highly recommended.

Continue or start your studies in an higher education institution (e.g university, college)

• You can also study part-time or as an extern, but in that case you will need to pay tuition. • Tuiton must be paid for curriculums in English too. However, there might be scholarships that cover the costs. • Most programmes are in Estonian, thus require good knowledge of language.

Obtain a vocational education

• Education in vocational schools is mostly free • Admission might vary from school to school • Education provided in Estonian, but some programme might also be in Russian and English • see more www.kutseharidus.ee

Take some additional courses

• If you are just interested in learning new things, but not necessarily obtaining a degree, you can participate in different courses offered by private-and public entities e.g

Tallinn or Tartu Folk High Schools. Search online for more information about courses.

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Haridus Lasteaed Kool Gümnaasium Ülikool Kõrgkool Kutsekool Õpilane Õpetaja Diplom Education Kindergarten School High school University Institution of higher education Vocational school Student Teacher Diploma