Inclusive Mobility
Strategies and policy measures at National level to ensure Inclusive Mobility of students with disabilities
Not applicable
Find below some interesting initiatives in this regard:
Targets for the participation of students with disabilities in credit mobility programmes such as Erasmus+
Not applicable
Grants and support services available for local students with disabilities going abroad
Students apply for the following grants and loans that are portable for both degree and credit mobility abroad:
- loans are available for degree and credit mobility;
- needs-based support also are available for degree and credit mobility;
- all grants are available for credit mobility, some of them are available for degree mobility (for disabled students).
Grants and support services available for international students with disabilities
National support services and grants for students with disabilities are also open for international students who come to Estonia for a degree mobility who can apply as an Estonian student would. They are not available for students coming for credit mobility (exchange programmes).
Students with fewer opportunities
Definition of fewer opportunities
There is no formal definition for a student with disability. However, the “Higher Education Act” addresses students with disabilities as students with moderate, severe or profound disability. It can include physical or mental disability.
National procedures and conditions to be recognised as a student with fewer opportunities and to apply for reasonable adjustments
Higher education institutions may establish different admission requirements for different groups, based on the prior qualifications or special needs of the applicants. The specific target group can be determined by the higher education institutions themselves. It applies also to students with special needs. Higher Education Institutions are not entitled to the reimbursement of study costs from a student who has not complied with the requirements concerning full-time studies if he or she is a person with a moderate, severe, or profound disability or if he or she is the parent or guardian of a child under 7 years of age or a disabled child.
Scholarships for students with special needs (“Conditions and procedure for the provision of higher education scholarships” § 7 https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/122082019011?leiaKehtiv) The purpose of the scholarship for students with special needs is to support students with special needs upon the acquisition of higher education. The amount of the scholarship for students with special needs depends on the degree of severity and type of the disability and varies between 60-510 Euros per month. The main target group is students with a moderate, severe, or profound disability.
Needs-based study allowance (“Study Allowances and Study Loans Act” https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/521032019018/consolide). It is designed to support students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds while obtaining higher education. The amounts of the needs-based study allowance are divided as follows: EUR 75, 135, and 220 (per month). Being qualified for any of the amounts of the allowance depends on the average income of the student and their family members in the calendar year prior to the academic year of submitting an application for the study allowance. The main target group is students with financially disadvantaged backgrounds or from low-income families.
For more information, you can consult the Higher Education Act
Specific public support services and/or public grants for students with fewer opportunities?
Regulated by law:
- Lower fees or fee waivers based on the disability
- special grants for students with disabilities
- targeted information and guidance prior to admission;
- specific support measures targeting groups (students with disabilities);
For more information, you can consult the Higher Education Act