The Ministry of Education and Research allocates almost two million euros to kindergartens, general education schools and vocational training institutions to acquire educational materials for students whose mother tongue is not Estonian.
The support reaches a total of 11,470 children and students. The allowance is 75 euros per kindergarten child and 57 euros per student. The total amount of support is 1,952,010 euros, and it is allocated to the managers of preschools and schools, state-run general education schools and vocational training institutions offering vocational secondary education.
Minister of Education and Science Tõnis Lukas Tõnis Lukas is an Estonian politician. stated that the broader purpose of the financial injection for the purchase of educational materials is to support the transition to Estonian-language education. "Kindergartens and schools can buy more textbooks, workbooks and fiction, as well as e-learning tools and access to different digital environments, according to their needs," said Lukas.
In the course of preparing the transition to Estonian language learning, the existing methodological and study materials are mapped and systematized and made available to teachers both in e-Koolikot and on the curriculum website. There are also plans to create new teaching materials based on modern knowledge of the structure and logic of teaching materials, and they ensure compliance with the level.
In order to start a crucial stage in the transition to Estonian-language education, 41 million euros have been allocated in the 2023 state budget. In four years, the need for additional financial resources for the transition to Estonian language education is in the order of 300 million euros.
The transition to education entirely in Estonian will begin in kindergartens and in the 1st and 4th grades in 2024. According to the coalition agreement, education in Estonian has been switched over by 2030.