Agenda Profile: Liina Kersna

First Reading of the Draft Act on the Amendment of the Adult Education Act and Related Amendments to Other Acts (465 SE)

2024-09-19

15th Estonian Parliament, 4th sitting, plenary session

Political Position
The political position is strongly supportive of the Draft Act on Amendments to the Adult Education Act (465 SE), which legalizes micro-qualifications and micro-degrees. The speaker emphasizes the long-term preparation of the bill and its initiation during their previous tenure as minister, demonstrating a strong personal commitment and political continuity. The framing of the bill is policy-driven, focusing on establishing the necessary legal framework.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Topic Expertise
The speaker demonstrates significant expertise in the field of higher education policy and lifelong learning, focusing on the regulation of micro-degrees and micro-qualifications. Specific terminology is used, such as ECTS credits (study points), accreditation, and the volume of formal degree studies (5–30 ECTS, 50% requirement), which indicates a detailed technical and legal understanding. This expertise is further confirmed by the reference that the draft legislation was initiated while the speaker was serving as minister.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Rhetorical Style
The rhetorical style is formal, informative, and procedural, typical of a presentation delivered by a commission representative. The speaker expresses satisfaction ("a pleasure to introduce," "finally"), but the style is primarily logic-based and factual, focusing on the detailed reporting of the commission's discussions and decisions.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Activity Patterns
The modes of operation involve active participation in the legislative process, serving as the representative of the Culture Committee during the first reading of the draft legislation. Mention is made of participation in the committee session on September 10th and the subsequent presentation to the plenary session on September 18th. The speaker also references long-term work on this topic, which began during their tenure as minister.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Opposition Stance
The attitude of confrontation is absent; the speaker focuses exclusively on introducing the content of the draft bill and the procedural process.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Collaboration Style
The style of cooperation is consensual and open, emphasizing that the Culture Committee’s decisions regarding the handling of the draft bill were reached by consensus. Reference is also made to successful cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research and the universities, all of whom have approved the solution. Cooperation was also undertaken with colleagues from other factions who posed questions in the committee.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Regional Focus
The regional focus is both national and international, addressing amendments to Estonian law in the fields of higher education and continuing education. The necessity of being comparable with other European universities is mentioned, and a provision was added to the law concerning the granting of qualifications to educators operating outside of Estonia.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Economic Views
Insufficient data.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Social Issues
Regarding social issues, the focus is on education and lifelong learning, supporting the creation of new forms of qualifications (micro-qualifications and micro-degrees). This promotes flexibility and access to obtaining qualifications in adult education.

1 Speeches Analyzed
Legislative Focus
The legislative focus is currently on the draft amendment to the Adult Education Act (Bill 465 SE), which aims to introduce the definitions of micro-qualification and micro-degree, along with the conditions for their issuance. The speaker, acting as a representative of the lead committee, successfully guided the bill to its first reading and set the deadline for submitting amendments as October 2nd.

1 Speeches Analyzed