Ukrainian Children in Poland Will Be Required to Attend Polish Schools

Is your child in Poland studying online at a Ukrainian school? Starting 1 September 2024, all children will be required to attend Polish schools on a mandatory basis.

The topic of education for Ukrainian refugee children in Poland is quite sensitive. Many parents do not want their children to attend Polish schools. Some are put off by the fact that the Polish education system and curriculum differ from the Ukrainian one, while others are deterred by the prospect of a potentially difficult school adaptation for their child.

Either way, many parents and children have chosen remote learning at Ukrainian schools instead of attending Polish ones. However, from the new school year, everything will change.

Ukrainian Children in Poland Will Go to Polish Schools

On 4 April, Poland's Deputy Minister of Education Joanna Mucha announced that the bill requiring all children of Ukrainian refugees to attend Polish schools is already in its final stage. This is not solely a Polish government initiative: according to Joanna Mucha, the Ukrainian side is also interested in seeing children of Ukrainian citizens in Poland finally start attending school.

Special Ukrainian language lessons will be introduced for Ukrainian children in Polish schools. For this purpose, teachers from Ukraine will be employed — they will go through a simplified diploma recognition (nostrification) procedure. Ukrainian children will also be taught about European integration. The Ministry of Education believes that such knowledge will be needed in connection with Ukraine's future accession to the European Union.

The Polish Government Aims to Improve the Situation of Ukrainian Children in Polish Schools

According to ministry data, 50,000–60,000 Ukrainian children in Poland are not covered by the Polish education system. In February, in an interview with Oko Press, Joanna Mucha stressed that Polish authorities essentially do not know whether these children are receiving any education at all. Moreover, many Ukrainian schoolchildren have been learning remotely for four years already — that is, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that same interview, the deputy minister also explained her position on the language question in the education of Ukrainian children:

«We want to propose that Ukrainian children in Poland should be able to learn the Ukrainian language. So that they can learn about Ukrainian culture. We want them to feel that their Ukrainian identity is being nurtured, and when they return to Ukraine or stay in Poland, they will have a full sense of their own identity — but at the same time we want them to receive an education.

Of course, these children will also learn Polish, for the simple reason that they will be studying various subjects in Polish. Also because we assume that some of them may stay in Poland.»

What else can you read in this interview? ■ Joanna Mucha spoke about plans to introduce Polish as a foreign language for Ukrainian pupils and Ukrainian as a foreign language for Polish pupils in Polish schools. ■ Since the start of the full-scale war, the number of «intercultural assistants» in Polish schools has grown — these are teaching assistants who help foreign students adapt during their first year. However, the number of such specialists is now declining. ■ Regarding the newly established Ukrainian schools in Poland, Joanna Mucha stated that these institutions operate outside the Polish education system, which is a problem. Polish authorities view these schools positively and believe they are doing great work, but are intent on integrating them more deeply into Poland's educational landscape. ■ On the subject of conflicts arising in schools between Ukrainian pupils and Polish children/teachers, the deputy minister said: «All of this happens when children are thrown into the education system — forgive the expression — "live", with no integration policy whatsoever.» The ministry plans to develop a policy for integrating children into the Polish system. It also intends to thoroughly investigate all instances of misunderstanding or violence. ■ Quote: «..I want to emphasise that over the past two years, Ukrainian children have received far too little attention within the Polish education system. We want to invite children who have been learning outside the Polish education system so that they can benefit as much as possible. The change in our policy towards Ukrainian children will be very clear.»

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