Investigation into the failure of the education agreement (no 704)
Session: 15th Estonian Parliament, 5th session, plenary session
Date: 2025-02-17 18:32
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 26
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 47m
AI Summaries: 26/26 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu, within the framework of agenda item four, received an overview of the inquiry regarding the failure of the education agreement and questions and criticism were presented concerning the content of the education agreement and its implementation by school maintainers and municipalities. Speeches focused on the fact that the education agreement is a purely paper document, with signatures not given by 70 out of 79 municipalities, and what the potential consequences of this agreement might be and their long-term effects on teacher workload, salary, and the teacher workforce. The discussion addressed funding, the role of the differentiated fund, and the need to reach collective bargaining agreements that maintain long-term salary policies and a career model approach. It was also emphasized that school maintainers and municipalities need a clear guarantee that funding will actually materialize and that legislative changes are necessary for the education sector to develop sustainably. As a concluding remark, cooperation was emphasized and the need to continue a broad-based consensus-building process involving school maintainers, trade unions, and the state, resulting in a stable, long-term solution for the teacher career model, working conditions, and salary.
Decisions Made 1
No specific decisions were made regarding the legal forcefulness of the final version of the education agreement or assuming responsibility for its obligations. The examination of the inquiry continues, and the parties agreed to continue dialogue and to submit constructive proposals for the next steps, including those concerning legislative changes and securing funding, as well as preparing for the long-term implementation of the career model.
Most Active Speaker
The most active participant was Vadim Belobrovtsev, who had several thorough and lengthy discussion contributions, posing questions and criticisms regarding the education agreement and its effects. Within a framework of politicization and substantive discussion, his role can be positioned on the left- or right-wing spectrum rather than "other" (his party's partisan identity was not clearly central), but he primarily represented the opposition's critical narrative and question text in the Riigikogu debate.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The inquiry submitted as the Riigikogu's fourth agenda item concerning the failure of the education agreement, whose authors are Vadim Belobrovtsevi, Lauri Laatsi, Vladimir Arhipovi, Andrei Korobeiniku, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti, Aleksandr Tšaplõgini and Aleksei Jevgrafovi, was requested to introduce Vadim Belobrovtsevi.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
According to Belobrovtsev, the education agreement has failed, because only 9 of the 79 municipalities have signed onto it and 70 have not, and therefore it will not solve the workload of school administrators or teachers, nor their salaries and the problems with attracting the next generation of teachers, and the minister must keep his promise and find an effective solution for the collective agreement.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chair Lauri Hussar thanked and asked that the Riigikogu's rostrum be returned to the Minister of Education and Science Kristina Kallas in order to answer the interpellation.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Education Minister Kristina Kallas said that various stakeholders have come together to reduce teachers' workload and class sizes, to ensure a pipeline of teachers and long-term pay security, and to move toward a collective bargaining system similar to the Nordic model, the funding base of which is the 2026 differentiation fund, and under which the operator of primary schools would be local governments or private schools, and the operator of the gymnasium would be the state or a private school, and which includes a career model and longer-term working conditions.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks the minister, announces that there are also questions, and invites Mart Maastik to speak.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Maastik emphasizes that Isamaa is not angry about or opposed to the education agreement, but the main reason is financial obligations and the limits of the state's promises over more than one budget year, which means municipalities lack resources and the agreement could not be ratified in many municipalities; and he asks where the information that Isamaa would be hostile to the education agreement comes from.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Kristina Kallas states that Tallinn had no reason not to sign the agreement, and the education agreement is balanced, because the state finances a career model and 21 contact hours per teacher, and the base grant is distributed to municipalities, while the obligation to regulate working conditions and workload remains with the school’s employer.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman invited Vadim Belobrovtsev to perform.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They ask whether the Ministry of Education's plan to set the minimum salary for new teachers at the general minimum wage will increase the number of teachers coming to work in schools, or whether it will instead exacerbate the shortage of teachers.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Education and Science Minister Kristina Kallas said that the claim is not true: the national minimum wage applies to a teacher starting in the career model, and the starting teacher is the first stage in this model, but for teachers who do not meet the qualification, a national minimum wage is not set and their working conditions and salaries are agreed between the employer and the contractor, funding will not be reduced, and in subsequent career levels the nationally agreed minimum rates apply.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks to invite Aivar Kokk.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Kokk emphasizes that Tallinn is not all of Estonia, and that the funding of municipalities depends largely on agreements with Eesti 200, and he contemplates in the education system whether paying teachers' salaries should be based on their competence or merely on seniority, which reflects coefficients ranging from a junior teacher to a master teacher.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
It is announced that it's your turn to perform.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Kristina Kallas explains that the municipalities that signed the education pact did so in good faith and not as a deal with Estonia 200, and teachers' salaries are determined in an autonomous system on the basis of an agreement by the school board, where there are three minimum thresholds and the qualification of a senior teacher or master teacher raises the minimum threshold — this is not a political deal caused by a lack of financial resources.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invited Tõnis Lukas to pose the final question.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Tõnis Lukas emphasized that there has been consensus in education policy, urged this autumn to sign an education agreement for the coming year and to add a line to the budget that would give municipalities certainty, affirmed the fulfillment of promises, and asked whether the delay of the Basic School and Upper Secondary Education Act is an obstacle for Isamaa in government.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
The draft is back from the coordination round and still needs one more coordination round in the Ministry of Justice before it goes to the government.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanks and informs that there are no questions left and that we have reached the negotiations, where there are two negotiators, and the first to arrive will be Vadim Belobrovtsev.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Belobrovtsev notes that although Isamaa is popular, political tensions arise around the education agreement, and the Tallinn talks and criticism may lead to a reduction of contact hours and an increase in teachers' workloads through overtime in order to raise salaries, while there is no definite minimum salary and the career model is uncertain, which requires time and clarity.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
They ask for three more minutes.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Belobrovtsev contends that the trust of local governments in the government has disappeared due to funding uncertainty and unfulfilled promises, and although some steps have been taken in the education sector, salaries and workloads have not improved, and the teachers' strike showed that the future is rather unfavourable.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Toomas Kivimägi thanks and announces that, on behalf of the members of the Riigikogu, he ends negotiations with Tõnis Lukas.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
They emphasized that there is no reason for panic; the focus must be on the education agreement and on the discussion of education issues without politicization, and they noted that Finance Minister Ligi has not given consent, and the agreement will not solve all education issues, but will leave room for improvements and involve all parties, including Isamaa, who are prepared for a constructive discussion.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanks and announces that the negotiations have been terminated by Kristina Kallas, the Minister of Education and Science.
Haridus- ja teadusminister Kristina Kallas
AI Summary
Education Minister Kristina Kallas stressed that the education agreement is an inclusive, bottom-up collaboration process in which school funders, teachers and school leaders agree on long-term principles (career model, salary scales, working conditions) and avoid political games; salary increases must come from competence and professional development, not from additional workloads.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Many thanks to everyone – we have finished deliberating on the fourth agenda item.