Education in Estonia

The history of formal education in Estonia dates back to the 13–14th centuries when the first monastic and cathedral schools were founded. The first primer in the Estonian language was published in 1575. The oldest university is the University of Tartu which was established during the reign of King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in 1632. The beginnings of the Estonian public education system appeared in the 1680s, largely due to efforts of Bengt Forselius, who also introduced orthographical reforms to written Estonian.

Today's education in Estonia is divided into general, vocational and hobby education. The education system is based on four levels which include pre-school, basic, secondary and higher education.^[1] A wide network of schools and supporting educational institutions has been established. The Estonian educational system consists of state, municipal, public and private educational institutions. There are currently 589 schools in Estonia.^[2]

Academic higher education in Estonia is divided into three levels: bachelor's studies, master's studies, and doctoral studies. In some specialties (basic medical studies, veterinary, pharmacy, dentistry, architect-engineer and a classroom teacher program) the Bachelor and Master's levels are integrated into one unit. Also bakalaureusekraad awarded before or on year 2002 are equivalent to the Master's level degrees awarded after implementing the Bologne Process on 1 September 2002.^[3][4] Estonian public universities have significantly more autonomy than applied higher education institutions. In addition to organizing the academic life of the university, universities can create new curricula, establish admission terms and conditions, approve the budget, approve the development plan, elect the rector and make restricted decisions in matters concerning assets.^[5] Estonia has a moderate number of public and private universities. The largest public universities are Tartu University, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and the largest private university is the International University of Audentes.

The Estonian Academy of Sciences is Estonia's national academy of science. The IT industry in Estonia started in the late 1950s as the first computer centers were established in Tartu and Tallinn. Estonian specialists contributed in the development of software engineering standards for different ministries of the Soviet Union during the 1980s.^[6][7]

Estonia started connecting all its schools to the internet very early. Tiigrihüpe (Estonian for Tiger Leap), founded in 1996, was a project undertaken by the state to heavily invest in the development and expansion of computer and network infrastructure in Estonia, with a particular emphasis on education.^[8] Thanks to its early adoption of education technology, Estonian schools also moved seamlessly online during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.^[9]

In the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, Estonia’s 15-year-olds rank 1st in Europe. In the world, Estonia’s students rank 6th in reading, 6th in mathematics and 6th in sciences.^[10][11]

To support whole-student-approach in personalised way, Estonian schools are systematically supporting students' well-being and mental health.^[12]

In 2024, a phased introduction of Estonian as the language to be used in all schools will begin, starting in preschool and the first and fourth grades. In the 2021/2022 school year, 13.5% of students studied using the Russian language, and this group underperformed when compared to students using the Estonian language.^[13]