The Ministry of Education is dissatisfied with the decision of Lähte Joint Gymnasium. The school admitted students through direct offers without holding entrance interviews. The results of the basic school final exams were also not considered.
In September, the ministry received a letter from a parent whose child was not admitted to the school. After an investigation, it was found that the school did not follow the correct process. Direct offers were made to many young people, but their basic school results were not considered as with other candidates.
Ministry representative Katrin Ohakas said that admission to the gymnasium is important for the student. All decisions must be made according to the law and documented in writing. Lähte Gymnasium did not strictly follow these rules.
Ohakas emphasized that the school must improve its admission process. It must clearly regulate how to handle students who have received direct offers. Candidates must also be given clear information about their place.
Currently, students who received direct offers were selected based on recommendations from other schools. The criteria were undefined. This put candidates on an unequal footing. The ministry wants the gymnasium to explain how it plans to organize admissions next spring.
Lähte Gymnasium director Martin Pent said that direct offers have been made for several years. The school asked for recommendations from nearby schools and issued invitations based on them. At first, there was skepticism in the school, but experience showed that it works.
Pent added that the school is located 10 km from Tartu and wants to attract motivated students. Direct offers provided an opportunity for this. The school has now changed its admission process to eliminate legal issues.
Pent believes that all bottlenecks have now been eliminated based on the ministry's objections. The school plans to seek feedback from the ministry and is confident that the new rules will work better.