The deputy minister of education, Katarzyna Lubnaur, solved a math problem during the visit

– This is a task from the basic secondary school leaving examination in mathematics – said Kacper Gradkowski from Generation 2050, placing a piece of paper with an equation in front of the deputy minister. – I would like to ask for a solution – said last year's high school graduate.

Katarzyna Lubnauer immediately started solving the task. – Of course, it was a bit biased, because in my case solving a problem of this level of difficulty is not a special art – said the deputy minister, who has a doctorate in mathematics. – Although I haven't practiced math for at least nine years – she added.

The deputy minister also spoke about the functioning of schools in flood-affected areas.

– Sometimes we have a situation where there is a problem with getting children to schools in flood areas. At the worst moment, 604 branches were suspended, today there are only 30 branches. Sometimes these facilities operate in different places than before – hence the changes in the flood law – she said in the “#Bezkitu” program.

– We helped ensure that children who go to different facilities on both sides of the destroyed bridge could go to the facility on their side of the river – added Katarzyna Lubnauer.

Deputy boss MEN was asked on Friday on TVN24 what stage the talks are currently on regarding the introduction of one hour of religion or ethics at school. – In the next week, the draft regulation on this issue should be submitted for consultation so that it can actually be signed by the Minister of Education Barbara Nowacka by the end of this year and that it could enter into force on September 1, 2025 – said Katarzyna Lubnauer. – I think it will be ready on Monday – she added.

She said that “the project assumes one hour of religion per week.” – Secondly, we want religion to be available before or after compulsory lessons – said the deputy minister of education.

She admitted that there is also the issue of solutions related to minority churches, related to catechetical points. She said that so far it has not been precisely written that, as in the Catholic Church, primary school students can be grouped into a group including: students of grades I-III or grades IV-VI or grades VII and VIII.

Lubnauer assured that as part of the consultations, the Ministry of Education will discuss this matter with both the Polish Episcopal Conference and minority churches. She pointed out that the Ministry of National Education also conducted consultations in the case of previous changes. – There were three meetings – the first one was led by Minister Nowacka, the next two meetings were conducted by me, first with representatives of the Polish Episcopate, then with minority churches – said Lubnauer.

She noted that as a result of these talks, the regulation on the organization of religion classes was “slightly” changed. The regulations regarding the creation of groups of children from different age groups and classes during religion classes are changing. – In the first version, there was a question of combining groups and it included students from fourth to eighth grade. We changed into two groups, from fourth to sixth and from seventh to eighth, noted Lubnauer. She added that the issue of the maximum group size for older children has also been changed.

The deputy minister was also asked about the new version of nature for primary schools. The Ministry of National Education is planning changes in the education system, which are to come into force in 2026. Natural science subjects, i.e. biology, chemistry, geography and even physics, can be combined in primary school into one interdisciplinary subject – nature. Instead of discussing individual topics separately, the new program is designed to integrate knowledge to help students better understand the connections between different areas of science.

– We are saying very clearly, because there is some anxiety among teachers, what this means for them, that even if we decide on this solution, because there is no decision yet, consultations regarding the graduate profile have started today, it will be possible, for example, such nature was taught by more than one teacher, i.e. there should be a team of teachers – explained Lubnauer.

As she said, “very often many phenomena are holistic in nature.” – We are currently talking about… climate change. Climate change is a phenomenon that affects both chemistry, physics, geography and biology, and actually covers all possible science subjects, she noted.

– Moreover, if we combined these science subjects, we would have a subject that was as important as, for example, mathematics or Polish, because there would be more hours per week. Therefore, it would be a serious subject, and at the moment, for example, in the seventh grade we have one hour of geography – she pointed out.