Legal, organisational and financial conditions adopted in the Polish education system for the purpose of educating foreigners’ children, including students from Ukraine, enabled the schools audited by NIK to meet the needs of those persons related to their education, upbringing and care. NIK points out, though, that as a result of the ordinance passed by the Minister of Education and Science following the war outbreak behind our Eastern border, the Ministry did not gather data on the students who arrived in Poland after 24 February 2022 and learnt remotely in Ukrainian schools. NIK has established that the Minister did not change the law despite receiving petitions and media reports on that issue already last year. As a consequence, it remains unclear how many children from Ukraine who are subject to compulsory schooling or compulsory education are covered neither by the Polish nor the Ukrainian education system.
Pursuant to the Minister’s ordinance, carers of children from Ukraine who learn remotely should report it in the relevant municipality. Not all of them meet this obligation, though. At the same time, there are no provisions of law enabling local authorities to enforce that obligation. NIK addressed 16 local governments managing the audited facilities, asking about the number of such students in school years 2021/2022-2022/2023. The data was provided to NIK by 13 municipalities. Three municipalities did not gather this type of data.
The lack of information, though, means that it is not clear how many children from Ukraine staying in Poland stopped learning at all. Hence, NIK requested the Minister of Education and Science to establish the number of school-aged children who arrived in Poland from Ukraine after 24 February 2022, who should be subject to compulsory schooling or compulsory education. NIK also asked the Minister to implement the mechanism to monitor if the obligations are really complied with.
Already last year the Amnesty International called for Poland to develop that mechanism considering “the number of male and female students with refugee experience”. At the same time, the Polish Ombudsman warned that the lack of response of the Polish authorities in case the child’s right to education is not exercised, may represent a breach of obligations set out e.g. in the international Convention on the Rights of the Child.
NIK also underlines that by 2 June 2023, chief education officers did not complete the audit planned by the Minister of Education for school year 2022/2023, concerning among others admitting foreigners to schools and assisting them in education. According to NIK the audit would help work out specific solutions to improve the situation of such persons in Polish schools.
NIK audited the Ministry of Education and Science and 28 state schools (14 primary and 14 secondary schools) managed by local governments in seven provinces. The audited period was 2020-2023 (until January). About a thousand teachers took part in NIK’s survey.
Surge in the number of students from Ukraine in Polish schools
According to the data from the Educational Information System (SIO) published on 30 September each year, within two school years the number of foreign students subject to compulsory schooling or compulsory education who attended Polish education facilities increased nearly five times. The number of foreigners’ children attending public and private schools totalled:
- in school year 2020/2021 – nearly 48.5 thousand,
- in school year 2021/2022 – nearly 67 thousand,
- in school year 2022/2023 – over 222.5 thousand.
The majority of them (71% on average) were students of secondary schools.
In the audited period, the biggest group among foreign students (almost 79% on average) were the citizens of Ukraine, also before the war outbreak in that country.
Other, much smaller groups in subsequent years were students from: Belarus (5%-8%), Russia (1%-3%), Vietnam (0.4%-2%) and Bulgaria (0.3%-1%).
The data gathered by the Ministry of Education and Science in the Educational Information System (“Ukraine legal stay”), revealed that in school year 2022/2023 the number of students from Ukraine attending Polish schools totalled:
- as of 24 June 2022 – over 131.5 thousand,
- as of 30 September 2022 – over 147 537 (approx. 12% increase),
- as of 31 March 2023 – nearly 134.5 thousand (nearly 9% decrease).
Also the number of schools educating foreigners’ children increased in school year 2022/2023 by approx. 5.2 thousand, that is by over 61% against the previous year.
Growing needs caused an increase in funds allocated for the education of those students. In the audited period, as part of the educational subsidy, spending in this area went up approx. 30% per year and finally exceeded PLN 2.2 billion.
As part of that subsidy the funds for preparation classes for students whose Polish language skills are not sufficient or who have adaptation problems related to the change of the education environment surged by nearly 270%.
Besides, from January 2022 to the end of March 2023, the Ministry transferred to local governments nearly PLN 2.6 billion from the special Aid Fund for the education of children from Ukraine.
Additionally, funds from the European Coherence Fund were allocated for that purpose as part of the Programme Knowledge Education Development. In the audited period that was the total of PLN 462 thousand.
In 2020-2022, also expenditures for additional, free education of Polish language for foreigners’ children increased – by over 76%.
How did the audited schools manage?
Due to the influx of immigrants to Poland, the Sejm passed the Special Act on Assistance to Ukrainian Refugees. The Act set out provisions among others on the education, upbringing and care of their children as well as the support of local governments in carrying out related additional education tasks. On that basis, on 21 March 2022 the Minister of Education and Science passed a special ordinance specifying those issues in detail.
At that time the Ministry lacked data on the potential number of children from Ukraine who could be incorporated in the Polish education system. However, sending them to preparation classes was considered the best solution. Therefore, the Minister of Education and Science changed the provisions of law, increasing the maximum number of students in preparation classes from 15 to 25, and the number of Polish language hours from 3 to 6 per week. He also made it possible to increase the number of preschool and school units, educational groups and students staying in after-school clubs.
The NIK audit showed that in 28 schools the number of preparation classes created in school year 2022/2023 went up six times against school year 2020/2021 and the number of foreigners in those classes increased ten times. Students from Ukraine represented the biggest group: they made up 75.5%.
Before the war outbreak in Ukraine, only two preparation classes were set up in the audited schools. After 24 February 2022, half of the remaining schools (13) created them. In each of those classes students were assisted by support teachers or culture assistants using their language. An average number of foreigners in one preparation class in school year 2022/2023 was approx. 16 students.
Nevertheless, in all the audited schools the great majority of foreigners’ children attended general-access classes – over 83%. The preparation classes recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science were created in the facilities, where – in accordance with the law - 15 students needing such classes were gathered.
In the audited period, the number of foreigners’ children using additional, free Polish lessons increased. In school year 2022/2023, the number of those students exceeded one thousand, which was over 99% against the previous school year. The classes were conducted in 27 schools. In 12 facilities NIK auditors found irregularities concerning the way the classes were organised or conducted.
All of the audited schools ensured proper conditions to provide education, upbringing and care to foreigners’ children.
According to NIK, though, not all schools properly admitted foreigners’ children. In 10 audited facilities the following findings were made:
- the team qualifying students for the preparation class was not appointed or the team composition was not adequate (in 6 schools);
- interviews with students were not conducted or not documented (in 4 schools);
- the documentation of newly admitted students was kept improperly or students were admitted upon violating school procedures (in 2 schools).
NIK has negatively evaluated the activities of two schools, which – having admitted foreigners in school years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 – failed to modify the school education and prevention programmes (the programmes should be modified in consultation with the Board of Teachers and the Board of Parents).
In surveys conducted by NIK as much as 84% of teachers declared that having made a student diagnosis they tailored the curriculum on their own to the needs of foreign students.
In none of the audited schools were special grading principles implemented for foreigners’ children. It was assumed that the principles had been specified for all students, without exceptions, in the schools’ charters. In 9 of 18 audited schools the total of 349 Ukrainian students were admitted. As much as 92% of them (321) were not subject to class rank and received certificates of attending the preparation class. Only 28 Ukrainian students (from 5 school) were subject to annual class rank in school year 2021/2022 and were promoted to the next class.
62% of 510 class teachers taking part in NIK’s survey declared that all their students were provided with psychological and pedagogical assistance.
According to the headmasters of all the audited schools, an increased number of foreigners at school after admitting Ukrainian students did not have an adverse impact on teaching or upbringing processes carried out at school. Only at one school the new students – according to the headmaster – found it difficult to adapt to new conditions. The key reasons included language and culture barriers. The difficulties were solved on an ongoing basis, in cooperation with a teacher- interpreter of the Ukrainian language.
NIK also points to a problem of training programmes for teachers working with foreigners’ children. The audit revealed that only one third of the audited schools (10 of 28) financed training-related expenditures. In 2020-2022, they soared from approx. PLN 17 thousand to over PLN 50 thousand and totalled approx. PLN 80 thousand.
Nearly half of the teachers (48%) who took part in NIK’s survey declared that in school years 2021/2022-2022/2023 they participated in professional development programmes related to the education of foreign students on their own initiative and at their own cost. Those were chiefly online training sessions, conferences and workshops, open meetings as well as qualifying courses and postgraduate studies.
Recommendations
To the Minister of Education and Science:
- to establish the number of school-aged children and youth who arrived in Poland from Ukraine after 24 February 2022 and who should be subject to compulsory schooling and compulsory education, and to implement a mechanism to monitor the discharge of that obligation.
To school headmasters:
- to implement mechanisms ensuring proper admission of foreign students to Polish schools,
- to take measures to enable foreign students to participate in additional Polish classes in required number,
- to properly inform the managing authorities about changes in the school work organisation when admitting foreigners,
- to include issues related to foreigners’ education in pedagogical supervision plans.
