The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of National Education may get confused when it comes to religion at school. What does PSL play?
Photo: Radek Pietruszka/PAP
– It's hard not to consider it a political deal – comments political scientist prof. Dorota Piontek, when I ask how it is possible that at the same time the Ministry of National Education gives up compulsory health education, but instead fights to reduce religious hours in schools. What is the significance of the ongoing election campaign and what is the significance of PSL's fight to stay on the political scene?
- From September 2025, health education will not be compulsory, and there will be less religion in schools.
- Meanwhile, all three ministries headed by PSL in Donald Tusk's government have expressed negative opinions about changes in teaching religion in schools.
- The findings of tvn24.pl show that the Minister of Education, Barbara Nowacka, decided to make a decisive move regarding religion because, after the failure with health education, she needed success – also in the media.
- The Catholic Church and the Association of Secular Catechists have already spoken out against the attack on the number of hours of religion at school.
- – In the case of religion, we have clearly seen a decline in children's interest in participating in lessons for years. This is a topic that will obviously outrage some circles, but it is not as relevant as sexuality, says political scientist Prof. Dorota Piontek from the University of Adam Mickiewicz in PoznaÅ„. Therefore, it would not be as strongly used and polarizing in the ongoing election campaign as health education.
Reducing the number of religious hours and introducing compulsory health education were supposed to be the most important educational changes in 2025. Draft regulations on both of these matters were submitted for public consultation in October and since then their fates have been intertwined. Opposition politicians were critical of the government's plans PISchurch hierarchs and… ministers from PSL. Although the opponents of the reforms are the same group, today the situation looks as if the government gave up on health education and decided to fight for reducing religious hours.
Less than a week was enough.
January 11 we wrote in tvn24.pl that the government is considering postponing the introduction of health education a year later. Officially, the authorities MEN they said that there was no decision and that various variants were being considered.
January 12 in Szczecin, deputy prime minister, minister of national defense and head of PSL WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Kosiniak-Kamysz informed that the matter is closed: “health education will be optional.” But the minister of education Barbara Nowacka she had not yet laid down her arms and on the X website she wrote that “someone confused the Ministry of National Defense with the Ministry of National Education”.
January 14 However, the minister had no chance because both the Prime Minister said that the subject should be optional Donald Tuskas well as the Civic Coalition's candidate for president Rafał Trzaskowski.
January 16 At a press conference about the planned education reform, Nowacka was asked mainly about health. And she had to admit surrender. As she herself said, “not to start a war.”
January 17 unexpectedly (just the day before she said she needed time) she decided to open a second educational front, which had been quiet about it recently. Despite criticism from the Church authorities, she signed a regulation limiting the number of religion classes.
Barbara Nowacka signed the regulation. “One religion lesson in the first or last lesson”MichaÅ‚ Tracz/Fakty TVN
Where do these decisions come from? What does the ongoing campaign before the May presidential elections have to do with them? And why do the ministers of the Polish People's Party fight to defend religion in schools?
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