Over 5.5 million pupils, including 6-year-olds, have started the new school year in an education system trying to adapt to the latest reforms by the Education Ministry.

Six-year-olds admitted to schools, a new teaching program, compulsory maths at secondary school final exams, two foreign languages taught from the lower secondary school and sex education classes without parents’ consent are some of the reforms introduced by Education Minister Katarzyna Hall. 

This year, 10,000 6-year-old children have been admitted for the first time, together with their 7-year-old colleagues, as a result of the new education law which aims at reducing school starting age.

The law has caused protests among parents who claim that public schools are not ready to provide places to so many pupils, and who do not want to deprive kids of childhood.

As a result, the Ministry of Education decided to introduce a three-year preparatory period when parents themselves will decide whether they want to send their children to school at the age of six or seven. However, as of 2012 institutionalized education is to be obligatory for six-year-olds.  

According to the new teaching program for primary and secondary schools, which has also been introduced this term, so called ‘general education’ classes will be obligatory in primary and lower secondary schools.In secondary schools pupils, as well as taking obligatory subjects such as Polish Literature and Maths, will be able to choose either humanities or natural science as supplementary subjects. 

For the first time in 25 years all pupils will have to pass a final exam in order to finish secondary school. Since 1 September, pupils will also learn two foreign languages in lower secondary school (so far Polish children started learning one foreign language at the age of 10 and another in secondary school). However, many schools lack qualified language teachers, especially English ones.

The last main change brought by the educational reform refers to sex education classes. Parents who do not want their children to participate in such classes will have to file a request at headmaster’s office. So far they had to give consent to their children taking part in sex-edu classes and often failed to do that. As a result, only 60 percent of Polish pupils learnt about sex in school. (mg)