Interpellation concerning the insufficient state funding of school meals and the resulting inequality (No. 797)
Session: The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
Date: 2025-10-06 22:56
Total Speeches: 58
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 46m
AI Summaries: 58/58 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu debated an interpellation submitted by the Social Democratic faction regarding the insufficient state funding for school meals and the resulting inequality. Reili Rand, representing those who submitted the interpellation, stressed that due to the rapid rise in food prices, the state subsidy (€1 per child) has become outdated, forcing local municipalities (LMs) to cover their share by diverting funds from other areas or by passing costs on to families, which exacerbates social inequality. The significant role of school meals in Estonia's food security and in supporting local production was also highlighted.
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas responded to the interpellation by repeatedly emphasizing the principle of Estonian state governance, which dictates that covering the costs of school meals is the responsibility of the school maintainer—i.e., the local municipality—and not the primary obligation of the state. The state merely supports this obligation. The Minister rejected the proposal to link the school meal subsidy amount to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), noting that her priority during state budget negotiations was increasing teachers' salaries. She confirmed that, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the new health requirements would not increase the price of school meals. The Minister acknowledged that she lacked an overview of the LMs' capacity to cover the shortfall, but stated that, to her knowledge, no child in Estonia goes without a warm meal at school due to their socio-economic status. During the debate, the questioners criticized the Minister's rigid stance on the division of responsibility and highlighted concerns about the declining quality of school meals resulting from insufficient funding.
Decisions Made 1
No decisions were made
Most Active Speaker
Reili Rand (Social Democrats, left-wing) was very active as the representative of the questioners, submitting the interpellation and giving the final remarks, where she stressed the deepening of inequality and the issue of the state's value choices.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Arvo Aller proceeded to the seventh item on the agenda, which was an interpellation submitted by Riigikogu member Reili Rand and others regarding the insufficient state funding for school meals and the resulting inequality. He then gave the floor to the presenter, Riigikogu member Reili Rand.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Reili Rand emphasizes the significance of the interpellation submitted by the Social Democratic faction to the Minister of Education and Research, which addresses the long-term inadequacy of state funding for school meals. This inadequacy, amid inflation and rising food prices, exacerbates social inequality, placing families and local governments under pressure while simultaneously jeopardizing domestic food security and local supply chains. Consequently, the minister is required to provide explanations regarding the linking of funding to the price index and outline measures to rectify the situation.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller offered his thanks and then invited Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas to the podium to answer the interpellation that had been submitted.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
The Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, emphasized that covering the costs of school meals is, by law, the obligation of the school maintainer (usually the local municipality), which is why the state acts only as a supporter, not the primary bearer of the costs. Furthermore, the state does not intend to link the school meal subsidy to inflation or the consumer price index, arguing that local governments must regulate costs through public procurements. The Ministry of Social Affairs also confirmed that the new health requirements will not increase the price of school food.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Arvo Aller gave the floor to Tanel Kiik, noting that questions had been directed to him.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik expresses concern that the minister's answers give the impression that ensuring healthy and accessible school food is not a responsibility of the state. He emphasizes that, based on the logic of a unified education system, the state should ensure nutritious and standardized school meals for all children regardless of their place of residence, while also asking how the growing inequality between local governments will be avoided if state support remains at the current level.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas emphasizes the principle of the separation of powers, arguing that the provision of school meals is clearly the responsibility of the local municipality, which acts as the school maintainer. Consequently, state support should be transferred directly to the revenue base of local governments. She further warns the central government against interfering with the school maintainer’s autonomy in regulating specific details, noting that the confusion of functions creates unnecessary tensions.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller and Vladimir Arhipov were invited to speak, but the actual substance of his presentation remained unreported in the submitted text.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov highlights the fact that the state subsidy for a schoolchild's lunch has remained at one euro for years, even as prices and wages have risen, and demands that the state increase the support to help less affluent local municipalities ensure quality meals for children.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas emphasizes the clear division of responsibilities between the state and local governments, noting that while supporting children is important, the primary priority in her negotiations was raising teachers' salaries. She strongly advocates for providing education funding subsidies (such as school meals and textbooks) directly to the revenue base of the school maintainers, in order to respect their autonomy and prevent the state from steering decisions through small grants.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller passed the floor to Madis Kallas, requesting him to now approach the podium.
Madis Kallas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Kallas emphasizes the need for clear roles between the state and local governments, but he focuses on the question of how schools and municipalities could better involve local organic producers in school catering. He also asks whether the Ministry of Education and Research has collaborated with the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture to find a solution for prioritizing local producers in public procurements.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas concedes that, although European Union internal market rules prohibit favoring domestic bidders in public procurements, the issue has not yet reached her desk or the ministerial level. However, she knows that the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture has found ways to support organic producers, who tend to be domestic due to the short supply chain.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller and Peeter Ernits were called to speak, and he was given the floor to begin his presentation.
Peeter Ernits
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Peeter Ernits deems one euro an amount that has fallen behind the times and asks the minister to present scientific research confirming the correlation between properly fed students and good academic results, stressing that this issue is more critical than the disputes between the state and local governments.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas explains that a child's improved ability to learn and concentrate depends directly on sufficient sleep (8–10 hours), spending time in the fresh air, and having a diverse diet, stressing that school meals must also be varied; she further warns that the excessive use of blue screens at the expense of sleep is the primary reason for children's reduced attention spans.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller invited Raimond Kaljulaid to deliver a presentation or take the floor.
Raimond Kaljulaid
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Raimond Kaljulaid, starting with a humorous contrast between the Riigikogu and school life, criticizes the minister’s excessive focus on the differences in responsibility between the state and local governments regarding education issues. He emphasizes that for an Estonian parent, this administrative division is irrelevant—they simply expect the education system to be functioning properly, and constantly passing the buck of responsibility is not the correct approach.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
The Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, stresses the necessity of a clear division of responsibilities between the state and local municipalities. She criticized the state's encroachment upon the local government's exclusive domain, citing the organization of school meals as an example, and affirmed that local government is the principal financier of school meals. The state, she argues, should only provide support, while strictly avoiding any organizational interference.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller and Lauri Laats were introduced and invited to the podium to deliver their address.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats accuses the minister of being unaware of the actual situation regarding school lunches, asking when he last visited Tallinn schools and ate lunch there. He emphasized that the 1-euro subsidy amount, set in 2018, no longer allows for ensuring adequate quality due to inflation, resulting in children leaving the food uneaten. According to school principals, this means the money paid by the state is going to waste.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller confined himself to a brief thank you, expressing his gratitude only at the conclusion of his speech.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats reproaches the listener for refusing to intervene in the situation, instead shifting the responsibility and the burden of additional contribution onto local municipalities when the resulting state of affairs is unsatisfactory.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller, using a brief and specific phrase, handed the floor over to the next speaker, thereby signaling the start of a new round of speeches or a new stage of debate.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas categorically rejected the claim regarding the poor quality of school meals in Tallinn, explaining that children's lack of appetite does not always reflect the quality of the food itself, but rather their attitude. She proposed serving the meals buffet-style as a solution. Furthermore, based on her recent visit in the spring of 2024, she confirmed that the school lunch provided was actually very good and the children ate it with appetite.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller issued a brief and specific demand that the ongoing activity be completed or halted immediately.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas had barely begun her address directed at Lauri Laats in the spring of 2024 when an interjection rang out from the hall, which required the chairperson's intervention and the restoration of order by ringing the bell.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller asked everyone to listen to the response, drawing attention to the forthcoming information.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas confirmed that she had already answered the question, but noted that the response had not satisfied the other party.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller thanked the audience or the previous speaker, and subsequently handed the floor over to Jaak Aab.
AI Summary
Jaak Aab takes a historical look back at the idea of free school lunches, referencing his mentor Peeter Kreitzberg and pointing to Finland and Sweden as models, where a warm and healthy school lunch is secured at the statutory level. He emphasizes that although funding is a matter of agreement between the state and local authorities, this service must also be legally guaranteed for students in Estonia.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas speculates about the Finnish school operation system, assuming that most costs, including teachers' salaries and school meals, are the responsibility of the local municipality. However, she emphasizes that she is unfamiliar with comparative systems and must defer a precise answer.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller gave the floor to Riina Sikkut.
Riina Sikkut
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Riina Sikkut referred back to a previous discussion concerning the mitigation of socio-economic inequality within the education system. She then asked the minister what specific guidelines have been issued to state schools to ensure the provision of free school meals, stressing that the state should not pass this responsibility onto local municipalities and that free, healthy food is vital for improving children's concentration and academic results.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas confirmed that the minimal parental contribution required for school meals in state gymnasiums has not led to a decrease in student uptake. She added that because schools are free to cover this contribution themselves from their own budgets, there is currently no feedback suggesting that any child is going without food at school due to socio-economic reasons—a situation that must absolutely be prevented.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller and Anti Allas were called by name to the podium or the stage to begin their presentation.
Anti Allas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Anti Allas praises the decision on free school meals as one of the best, but highlights the fact that state revenues have grown significantly faster than those of local governments. He then asks the minister why the state, given this situation, is not increasing its own contribution to school meal financing, thereby violating the original agreement regarding the provision of free food.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas points out that although the state’s revenue base has grown faster than that of local municipalities, all of that growth has been directed toward the state’s priority—the very rapid increase in defense spending, which began due to the war in 2022, while, for example, support for school meals was last raised back in 2018.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller gave the floor to the next speaker, Züleyxa Izmailova.
Züleyxa Izmailova
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Züleyxa Izmailova emphasizes that free education must also require high-quality and free school meals, and she asks why children should be held responsible for the inability of local governments to ensure they receive nutritious food, especially considering Estonia's low birth rate.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas stresses that children are not at fault for anything and confirms that, to her knowledge, no child in Estonia is going without a warm school lunch due to parents failing to pay their contribution, as the costs are covered by the school maintainer even in such situations. However, she urgently asks to be informed if there are any cases where a child is denied a warm meal in the school cafeteria because of an excessively high co-payment that the local municipality does not compensate.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chair Arvo Aller, Reili Rand was called to the podium to begin her presentation, so the substantive address is only just starting.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Reili Rand criticizes the minister for the inflexible position that ensuring school meals is solely the responsibility of local governments, stressing that this approach deepens inequality between municipalities and leaves children's access to a meal dependent on their place of residence and their family’s economic situation. This is a matter of concern for the state, especially given that the ministry lacks any overview of the current situation.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas categorically confirms that there are no known situations in Estonia where children would miss a meal at school, but she urgently requests that she be provided with data on specific cases where a local municipality has refused to approve parents' applications for free school meals, stressing that such incidents must be addressed immediately.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller Lauri Läänemets was called to the podium to take the floor.
Lauri Läänemets
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Läänemets is drawing attention to the critical decline in the quality of school meals due to insufficient funding, arguing that this is a widespread national problem, not merely an issue for local municipalities. As a solution, he proposes redirecting the more than 114 million euros currently spent on tax breaks intended for wealthier individuals.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller confined himself to a brief procedural remark, signaling to the next speaker the start of their allocated time.
Lauri Läänemets
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Läänemets stressed that, in fact, it is possible to solve the problems at hand using the existing financial resources.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller confined himself to a brief expression of thanks when concluding his presentation.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
The Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, argues that the financial difficulties faced by local authorities (LAs) concerning costs and school upkeep are due to the unequal distribution of the revenue base between the state and the LAs. Consequently, this distribution must be quickly reassessed to ensure LAs receive autonomous funding commensurate with their obligations, thus resolving the situation where they bear extensive responsibilities but lack adequate tax revenue.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller, Helmen Kütt was called to the podium, but the submitted text contains only the introduction, not the content of her presentation.
Helmen Kütt
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helmen Kütt stresses the necessity of a fairer distribution of revenues and responsibilities between the state and local municipalities. She highlights how local governments (KOVs) are forced to use their own budgets to finance state-level tasks (such as special welfare services), and worriedly asks whether, similar to the cuts in funding for hobby education, there is a risk that the last remaining meager supports might also vanish in the future.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas confirms that while she supports increasing the revenue base for local governments and would happily transfer it, the priority for the current state budget was set on raising teachers' salaries. Handing over the revenue base is the subsequent step, which first necessitates creating sufficient economic growth to ensure a fair and expanding base.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller concluded the questioning period, opened the debate, and granted Reili Rand, the representative of the interpellators, three minutes of additional time upon her request.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Reili Rand sharply criticizes the government's policy priorities, which she argues create inequality by shifting the funding of school meals onto local municipalities while simultaneously handing out 114 million euros as a gift to the wealthiest. She stresses that the state's obligation is to ensure equal conditions for all children through social guarantees, so that no child is deprived of a proper lunch due to their place of residence or their parent’s income.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller then gave the floor to Vladimir Arhipov for the next presentation.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov sharply criticized the state for its insufficient school meal subsidy, arguing that it fails to cover actual costs and thereby deepens inequality among children. He stressed that high-quality school nutrition is a matter of values and an inseparable part of education, and urged the government to increase the subsidy to reflect actual costs, ensuring that every child in Estonia receives a decent lunch regardless of their location.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller concluded the discussions, having received confirmation from the minister that he had no further requests, and thereby declared the consideration of the seventh item on the agenda closed.