Education and Science, Estonia

This week, the state orders for university education will be signed with universities. According to current agreements, the state will pay universities for the studies of 9,100 students, while universities offer free studies to nearly 10,000 students. The reason for that is the new result-based agreement, as universities need to provide the promised number of master's degree graduates in 6-7 years time.

"Looking into the future, the university has to accept knowingly more students, considering that not all of them are strong enough to reach the graduation diploma," said Tallinn Technical University study pro-rector Kalle Tammemäe.

"The number of students has unfortunately fallen by 6% a year. On the other hand, it is clear that the financial scheme, according to which university education becomes free university education, means that the interest of students towards studying in non-state budget financed places is lower, and the new financing model takes very considerably into account how many graduates there are in a university," said education ministry university education department head Mart Laidmets.

Next year, the state should increase the state-financed education order to universities from 9,100 to 12,000.