First Reading of the Draft Act on the Amendment of the Adult Education Act and Related Amendments to Other Acts (465 SE)
Session: 15th Estonian Parliament, 4th sitting, plenary session
Date: 2024-09-19 00:05
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 23
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 29m
AI Summaries: 23/23 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
Today, Draft Act 465 (first reading), initiated by the Government of the Republic, concerning amendments to the Adult Education Act and related amendments to other legislation, is being discussed. The draft focuses on the introduction of micro-qualifications and the regulation of this field, aiming to offer flexible and relevant learning opportunities for adults while simultaneously ensuring the quality of education. It is important to note that the European Union’s recommendations regarding lifelong learning and flexible continuing education and retraining solutions serve as guiding principles, and establishing a unified framework within the Union helps guarantee the cross-border recognition of micro-qualifications.
A second component of the scope involves changes to terminology and concepts related to the learning environment: the current term 'level education' is being replaced by 'formal education,' and the concept of 'non-formal education' is being added. The draft defines the concepts of micro-qualifications and micro-degrees, requirements for providers (quality assessment and operating licenses), specific quality criteria, state funding, and reporting within the Estonian Education Information System. Training information must be publicly accessible and primarily in Estonian. Digital environments and new communication channels are specified, which must not require a password or fee if the information is related to the training.
Decisions Made 1
The Culture Committee decided to place the draft legislation on the plenary session agenda for September 18th and conclude the first reading; to appoint Liina Kersna as the representative of the lead committee; the deadline for submitting amendments is October 2nd at 5:15 p.m.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker today was Arvo Aller (EKRE, right-wing) – he gave two addresses and participated in a direct, spontaneous discussion on the topic of micro-qualifications.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The final item on today's agenda is the first reading of Bill 465, initiated by the Government, concerning the amendment of the Adult Education Act and associated legislation. The Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, is invited to deliver the report.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Kristina Kallas introduced amendments to the Adult Education Act. These amendments establish micro-qualifications as short, flexible ways of acquiring skills that meet labor market needs, set quality standards for these qualifications and the conditions for operating licenses, introduce qualification requirements for trainers, and increase the accessibility of training information and transparency in order to create an EU-compliant framework.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chairman thanked the Minister, noting that he also had questions, and invited Arvo Aller to take the floor.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller asks why we must use the concept of "formal education" (formaalõpe), which is in accordance with the European Union, and why we cannot continue using the Estonian term "tasemeõpe," which is more beautiful and clearer.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas stated that the term 'level-based study' currently used in the law will be replaced by the term 'formal education.' A new concept, 'non-formal education,' will also be added so that credit for non-formal education can be counted as part of formal education in general education, and the terminology will be more consistent at the European level for comparing qualifications.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invites Margit Sutrop to speak.
Margit Sutrop
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Margit Sutrop emphasized the future of micro-degrees, clearly asking whether those already issued will remain valid and if employers should value them the same way as the ones that follow the adoption of the law.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
The Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, stated that universities have launched 176 micro-degree programs this autumn, which are registered in EHIS as curricula and based on which micro-degrees are awarded. Furthermore, a significant regulatory change affects private educational institutions, because final documents for micro-qualifications issued before the law took effect are not officially registered in EHIS and are therefore not considered valid micro-qualifications.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invites Arvo Aller to speak.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller provides an explanation of the terms formal and non-formal learning, further training, and micro-credentials. He notes that further training is part of the learning outcome required to obtain a micro-credential, but worries that the average person might find this very confusing, and asks what the difference is between further training and a micro-credential.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Kristina Kallas stated that the micro-qualification constitutes further training that has successfully passed quality assurance. Furthermore, in the future, whenever public funds are utilized, the quality of the corresponding curriculum must be evaluated. Simultaneously, within the European context, formal education, non-formal education, and other types of learning must be uniformly differentiated and standardized terminology must be employed. This will reduce bureaucracy and simplify the comparison of credentials.
Urve Tiidus
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urve Tiidus asks about the extent of international recognition for micro-degrees compared to master's and doctoral degrees, and what the boundaries are for the academic recognition and international acceptance of micro-degrees.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Hussar calls on Urve Tiidus.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas said that while micro-qualifications registered in the Estonian Education Information System might not automatically receive immediate recognition in foreign countries, Estonian law establishes the quality and control requirements for them. This provides foreign educational institutions with guarantees that enable their recognition as part of their own study programs.
Hele Everaus
AI Summary
Hele Everaus asked how employers assess the value of microdegrees, and whether a bachelor's degree combined with a microdegree is more valuable than a master's or doctoral degree, as well as if microdegree programs could be a solution to financial problems for higher education institutions.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invited Hele Everaus to speak.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Kristina Kallas emphasized that university micro-credential programs allow adults to acquire skills needed in the labor market without having to complete the entire curriculum of a full degree program. Furthermore, these programs offer an accredited, quality-assured certificate, exemplified by the 6 ECTS course “Organization of Multilingual Education” offered at Narva College.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chairman offers his thanks and invites Jüri Jaanson to speak.
Jüri Jaanson
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He/She asks whether the certification of a micro-degree program means a program put together completely at random, or if the training institution's collaboration with employers is also taken into account, along with its impact on improving skills in the labor market.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas stated that in Estonia, curricula are evaluated based on curriculum groups and the criteria set by the quality agency. She added that a new system will not be created for micro-qualifications; instead, private training companies must compile the corresponding curriculum, specify their resources, trainers, and study materials, and pass the same assessment standard applied to universities, vocational schools, and applied higher education institutions. Upon successful completion of this process, an operating license will be granted for issuing the micro-qualification, and the final document will indicate the number of that license.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chair thanks the Minister, concludes the questions, and invites Liina Kersna, a member of the Culture Committee, to present from the Riigikogu rostrum the summary of the debate that took place within the Culture Committee.
Liina Kersna
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The draft bill discussed in the Riigikogu Culture Committee establishes the concepts of micro-qualification and micro-degree: micro-qualifications can be issued by further training companies and vocational education institutions, while micro-degrees may only be granted by accredited higher education institutions. For the latter, the micro-degree curriculum must include at least 50% formal education subjects and 5–30 ECTS credits. Trainers operating abroad may also grant qualifications. The committee unanimously decided to move the bill forward to the plenary session, appointed me as the representative of the lead committee, and set the deadline for submitting amendments as October 2nd.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar announced that the discussions have concluded, the first reading of Draft Bill 465 has been completed, and the deadline for submitting amendments is October 2nd at 5:15 PM.