Riigikogu amended system of entering into contracts of employment with heads of educational institutions
The Riigikogu passed with 72 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Hobby School Act, the Pre-school Child Care Institutions Act, the Vocational Educational Institutions Act and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (175 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union Faction and the Estonian Reform Party Faction. The aim of the Act is to transform contracts of employment entered into with heads of hobby schools, vocational educational institutions, basic schools and upper secondary schools and pre-school child care institutions into contracts of employment entered into for an unspecified term. In the Acts which are amended by this Act, the provisions allowing a contract of employment to be entered into with the head for a term of up to five years are repealed. Nobody voted against the Act and nobody abstained.
The Act on Amendments to the Pre-school Child Care Institutions Act, the Private Schools Act and the Hobby School Act (165 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic, was passed with 67 votes in favour. The Act regulates language training at pre-school child care institutions and drawing up of curricula of child care institutions, providing that, at a child care institution or a group in which the language of instruction and education is not Estonian, Estonian language instruction is guaranteed on the basis of the national curriculum of pre-school child care institution, for which support is allocated to the local government from the state budget. In addition, the current title of the study programme “framework curriculum of pre-school education” is replaced with the title “national curriculum of pre-school child care institution” and the goals and principles set by this curriculum are specified. Pursuant to the Act, the Government of the Republic establishes the national curriculum of pre-school child care institution by a regulation, which sets out, among other things, the expected general skills of a 6-7 year old child. In the opinion of the initiator, this allows nursery school teachers to take more account of differences in development potentials of children and to support children who are more advanced in development as well as less advanced children. This Act enters into force on 1 September 2008. Nobody voted against the Act and nobody abstained.
The Riigikogu Press Service