From September 1, children of refugees from Ukraine will be required to attend Polish schools. To kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools. This is a condition for paying Ukrainian families 800 plus benefits and the Good Start school kit. How prepared are our schools and Ukrainian children?
Preparations for the new school year are in full swing. Renovations, adding desks and chairs – everyone should feel good. Also new students from Ukraine.
– In all the first grades we have about 35-40 applications – says Krzysztof Obrębski, deputy director of School Complex No. 31 in Warsaw. But as the director adds, the phone rings all the time.
The reason? From September, children from Ukraine will be required to attend Polish schools. Starting from kindergarten, through primary school, and ending with compulsory education in post-primary schools. Additionally, families from Ukraine will receive the 800 plus benefit only if their children attend Polish schools. – A Ukrainian student learns the Polish curriculum in a Polish school, in Polish – says Joanna Mucha, Deputy Minister of National Education from Poland 2050-Trzecia Droga.
This is a good, but belated solution, says Maria Kowalewska from the “Wolna Szkoła” initiative. – We will have some awareness of what is happening to these children. Because they may be enrolled in an online Ukrainian school, but are they connecting, are they learning? – she asks.
There will be one exception – concerning students finishing school. – If this child went through the entire educational process in Ukraine, then this last year can simply be spent in the Ukrainian educational system – informs Joanna Mucha.
How many new Ukrainian children will there be in the Polish system?
There are important questions left – about the Polish system and its readiness. – We, as a school, are prepared to accept, let's say, a dozen or so more of these students – says Barbara Międzybrodzka-Parcianko, principal of the Primary School in Zgłobice. – It seems to me that the system should be more ready than not ready, but individual institutions may not be ready for this. It is a question of how many of these students will actually go to a given institution – adds Szymon Lepper from the Polish Teachers' Union of the 5th General Secondary School in Gdynia.
And that's why teachers would like to know. – We have 27 and we don't know exactly how many of these children will be in schools in Poland – says Maria Kowalewska.
The press office of the Ministry of National Education reports that the data will be available in the fall. For now, we are left with estimates. – We expect between 60 and 80 thousand new Ukrainian children – says Joanna Mucha.
If a large group of students who do not speak Polish come to school, it will be possible to create a so-called preparatory class for them.
According to the Polish Teachers' Union, another problem will appear in schools. – If we increase the limits in classes in such diverse class groups, we cannot expect good educational results from students – points out Urszula Woźniak from the Polish Teachers' Union.
Forms of support for students from Ukraine
In a letter to curators, directors and teachers, the minister Nowacka writes about forms of support for students from Ukraine: free Polish language classes and the help of intercultural assistants.
– We managed to obtain a very large EU grant, we will be able to support local governments in employing intercultural assistants, details not yet today – says Joanna Mucha.
Main image source: TVN24