Inquiry regarding the reorganization of Kehtna Vocational Education Centre and Vana-Vigala Technical and Service School (no 733)
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Date: 2025-05-06 01:17
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 42
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 35m
AI Summaries: 42/42 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The first agenda item addressed the inquiry presented by Madis Kallas and associates regarding the reorganization of the Kehtna Vocational Education Centre and the Vana-Vigala Technical and Service School. The inquiry raised regional challenges and concern for preserving the vitality of the region, emphasizing that halting the school's operation could irreversibly impact the area. Five key questions were presented, aiming to clarify the minister's plan and possible steps concerning the future of the vital institution for the region, involving the community and ensuring service continuity.
The second part involved a discussion on reducing regional inequality in the context of vocational education. Minister Hendrik Terras provided a thorough response and confirmed that a guideline for assessing regional impacts has been drawn up, and accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Research has prepared its own separate summary, which played a role in the decision-making process. He also spoke about how community opinion was taken into account in the decision and that the process should not be halted, but should continue smoothly, involving local governments and the community. Furthermore, he indicated that a substantial approach to regional policy is part of the government's action plan, despite the direct mention of the term "regional policy" not appearing in the coalition agreement.
Decisions Made 1
No official decisions were made by the Riigikogu at today’s agenda. Key provisions and guidelines arising from the discussion include: reference to the existence of a summary of regional impact assessments and the development plans of the Ministry of Education and Research; to implement the decision, orders were followed and the plan is to continue the process of reorganizing schools, ensuring resources and community involvement. It was also emphasized that the transition must take place as smoothly as possible and regional interests and the availability of services must be guaranteed.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was regional and agricultural minister Hendrik Johannes Terras (position: other). He led the discussion with responses to the inquiry, confirmed the existing guidelines and principles of regional impact assessment, and emphasized the importance of community involvement and consideration of local interests.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The content of today's eighth item on the agenda is the inquiry submitted by Madis Kallas regarding the reorganization of Kehtna Kutsehariduskeskus and the Vana-Vigala Tehnika- ja Teeninduskooli.
Madis Kallas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Kallas expresses concern about the worsening regional inequality and the state of vocational education, focusing on the potential closure of the Vana-Vigala Technical and Service School and the risk of irreversible impact on the region, and asks the minister in five questions about the school's future and plans to reduce regional inequality.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar invited the Riigikogu to the floor to answer Hendrik Johannes Terras's interpellation, the Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras said that in the reorganization of Vana-Vigala School a thorough impact assessment has been made and is being conducted, and there is an open dialogue with representatives of the community; pausing the process is not currently deemed necessary due to the timetable, but the smoothness of the transition and the community's interests are being monitored, emphasizing the importance of regional balance and that although the coalition agreement's word "regional policy" may be absent in some versions, its content is in line with the government's action plan and work toward it will continue.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks the audience, announces that there are questions, and asks Reili Rand to speak first.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The vocational education reform will affect Hiiumaa and the future of Suuremõisa Castle, forcing certain trades to be studied in Hiiumaa by people from the distant mainland and testing the municipality's financial sustainability, which is why the Hiiumaa residents' message is being sought as the state withdraws and leaves the burdens to the municipality.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
They acknowledge the concern about the Hiiumaa school's future, emphasize the school's important role in the community, and intend to meet on Friday with the Hiiumaa local government leaders to obtain clarifications about the concerns and to offer assistance, planning a full day for this.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman invited Rene Kokk to speak.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk highlights a danger stemming from an old saying that the restructuring of Vigala School could cause the village to disappear, and asks the minister whether he is satisfied with the analysis carried out and the proposed plan, and whether he is ready to sign so that things can move forward.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Johannes Terras said that the guideline was used with the important-to-the-community school in mind, and the process could continue so that the school continued and the village's electricity supply was secured, and as a compromise the leadership was consolidated, but the institution remained physically intact, which, in his view, is reasonable.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The speech is simply a plea to invite Andre Hanimägi.
Andre Hanimägi
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Andre Hanimägi stressed that closing the school would be a major blow to the region, and it is necessary to find ways to transform the school and train Estonian people in their professional fields in order to prevent the import of foreign labor.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The school was not closed, but reorganized together with the vocational education reform plan, taking into account the peculiarities and the needs of the Estonian labor market, so that our people would become better educated.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman, Lauri Hussar, asks Tiit Maran to take the floor.
Tiit Maran
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tiit Maran emphasizes that the depopulation of villages is a political issue and that state policy must take into account how changes affect critical services—the heating system and the electricity system—so that these two critically important services remain.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The Ministry of Education and Science has taken this into account and, together with the local community, reached a compromise so that the community's operational continuity could continue.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik asked whether the government is considering reorganizing the network of vocational schools to reduce the number of study places in Tallinn and Tartu and to retain them in other counties, in order to motivate young people to study outside the growth centers.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman asked Tanel Kiik to come.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Thank you for that question; in the context of regional policy it is important that children can be enrolled in school, but I have not been involved in the broader discussions about the education network, and those decisions are mainly made by Kristina Kallas, who can certainly answer this question in much more detail.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, thanks and asks Ester Karuse to take the floor.
Ester Karuse
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Ester Karuse asks the minister whether she plans to meet with the Estonian Association of Towns and Municipalities and discuss substantive solutions on the topic of vocational schools.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The Minister of Regional and Agricultural Affairs, Hendrik Johannes Terras, thanked the Union of Estonian Towns and Municipalities and said that the meeting would take place tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and if they bring this topic to the table, it will be discussed there.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Hussar asks Lauri Läänemets to come on stage.
Lauri Läänemets
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Läänemets said that economic policy must not concentrate everything in Tallinn and Harju County, and that there should be a focus on education and the broad dissemination of jobs and entrepreneurship across Estonia, by involving locals and incorporating a regional dimension into decisions, rather than letting the Minister of Education decide alone.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras said that decisions of other ministries affect regional policy, and for this a guideline has been developed, which in this case was applied and for which a compromise with the local community was found, and if the Vana-Vigala community turns to him about the obstacles that have arisen in implementing the agreements, I will judge, listen and help them as best as I can.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Jaak Aab to speak.
AI Summary
Jaak Aab emphasized the importance of state institutions' workplaces for rural areas and asked whether the coalition has plans to add jobs in rural areas and to relocate some jobs from Tallinn and Harju County with the possibility of remote work, noting that previously around a thousand jobs had been moved there.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras said that the ministry has discussed various options, and if a good opportunity arises, it wants to promote them, and he mentioned in a conversation with Mart Laar the idea of moving the Ministry of Culture to Tartu, although such an arrangement may be difficult, but ideas in that direction are welcome.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asked Riina Sikkut to speak.
Riina Sikkut
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Riina Sikkut emphasized that extending the compulsory education age to 18 should be considered, but at the same time we must take into account the accessibility of young people's vocational education in both rural areas and Tallinn, and in the context of mental health and safety as well as the vitality of regions, because the closure of rural schools or the concentration of study in Tallinn deepens the divide.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Johannes Terras said that studying in a nature-rich environment, where there are fewer people and a slower pace of life, does not harm mental health.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invited Raimond Kaljulaid onto the stage.
Raimond Kaljulaid
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Raimond Kaljulaid noted that investments tend to accumulate in Tallinn and Harju County, where the value added is greatest, and asked the new minister whether he prefers a numbers-based approach based on profit, or also cares about the quality of life and development outside Tallinn.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairperson makes a brief plea to the minister.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Hendrik Terras emphasized a market-based approach and suggested that the state should promote entrepreneurship outside Harju County by creating investment subsidies and application mechanisms, and by enabling the calculation of investment profitability using Excel.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks the minister, there are no more questions, opens negotiations and asks that, first of all, the inquirers' representative Madis Kallas give his speech.
Madis Kallas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Kallas stressed the deepening of regional inequality and that before decisions are made an impact assessment and long-term planning must be carried out in order to prevent peripheralization and to keep schools, kindergartens, shops and businesses in rural areas viable, providing targeted measures such as support for six-grade rural schools and for schools in island municipalities, and expansion to vocational and higher education levels.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker Lauri Hussar thanks, and next he awaits here at the Riigikogu's speaking podium his colleague Rene Kokk.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk warned that the rapid reorganization of the school carries a risk to the long-term sustainability of the community and regional development, since closing the school would lead to a decline in services, shops, and bus traffic, and residents leaving, and he cited earlier closures by the Estonian Road Administration as a comparison, emphasising the need to find an inclusive and transparent plan, rather than an Excel-based cost-cutting concept.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asks to be given two more minutes of speaking time.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk invites the Minister of Education and Science to delve into the situation at the Märjamaa municipality's school, to meet with the community and the school community, and to thoroughly analyze the decisions that have been made, in order to develop solutions that are important to people and well thought out, rather than respond only to political pressures.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman, Lauri Hussar, thanked everyone; there were no requests to speak; the minister did not wish to speak; and he closed the negotiations and ended the consideration of today's eighth agenda item.