Bill on patriotic education, The bill, introduced by the Polish People’s Party deputies, has been submitted to the Sejm. It involves amendments to the Education Act, the Teachers’ Charter, the Act on the Income of Local Government Units and the Act on the Financing of Educational Tasks. Among other things, the MEPs propose: creating new educational programmes with a budget of PLN 15 million – reports the Local Government Portal.
The school must provide each student with the conditions necessary for his or her development and prepare him or her to fulfill family and civic responsibilities based on the principles of solidarity, democracy, tolerance, justice and freedom. A particularly important task of the school is to foster attitudes of solidarity towards the public good, concern for the unity of the state community and readiness to work positively for it – as indicated in the proposed preamble to the Education Law.
The project emphasized that the education system should inspire students to cultivating national and state traditionsespecially the Polish traditions of freedom, democracy and modernisation, as well as taking care of the material and intangible national heritage. Schools will also be obliged to promote knowledge of the principles of sustainable development among children and young people, including care for the climate and the natural environment, and to shape attitudes conducive to their implementation at local, national and global levels.
Mandatory trips
The project proposes the introduction of an obligation organization of trips to places related to Polish traditions freedom, democracy and modernization, as well as the material and immaterial national heritage, as well as military units and companies.
The goal is for them to be places that can awaken national pride, and for younger people, also local patriotism and attachment to the neighborhood. These can be cultural institutions, monuments, as well as places with special natural or landscape values (e.g. National Parks, natural monuments). The list of places should be adapted to local needs, the justification states.
Local government units will receive funds for the implementation of tasks related to patriotic education targeted subsidy. Funds are also made available for the professional development of teachers.
Appointment of the National Education Commission
The project also proposed the appointment of National Education Commission as a specialized body that will be responsible, among other things, for: adopting the State’s educational strategy, as well as issuing opinions on draft legal acts and important decisions in this area. As indicated in the justification, the National Education Committee would also recommend a canon of student visits to places that are key to Polish culture and historical heritage.
Changes in education law from September 1, 2025?
According to the project, new regulations would come into force introducing patriotic education in schools. September 1, 2025. Currently, the project is forwarded to the Legislative Office of the Chancellery of the Sejm.
