Government-appointed officials would be given greater powers to appoint and dismiss school headteachers under a bill prepared by the education ministry. They would also have more control over which outside organisations are allowed into schools.
Opposition figures have criticised the proposed law, saying that it is a political move designed to “purge” headteachers not supportive of the national-conservative ruling party and to tighten controls on materials to which children are exposed. The main teachers’ union has said it will consider a strike in protest against the measures.
Under the draft legislation, superintendents – one of whom is appointed by the government in each of Poland’s 16 provinces – would be given greater power over choosing headteachers, at the expense of local authorities, which in many towns and cities are under opposition control.
Superintendents would also be able to remove headteachers almost instantly and without notice if they refused to follow instructions. And they would be required to approve in advance the curriculum of classes led by outside organisations.
“In order to provide proper fulfilment of the school’s teaching and educational objectives it is of utmost importance that the superintendent has a significant say in the decision-making process on the local level in essential matters concerning functioning of educational institutions,” reads the bill presented by the education ministry.
The ministry says this is necessary because of “numerous notifications from superintendents, parents, teachers and teachers’ unions”. The majority of these, it says, relate to “unlawful actions, impacting the quality of teaching and the environment for students’ development”.
In one of the key changes, superintendents would be given five votes in choosing headteachers, and the local council just three. In the current system, they have three each.
Meanwhile, superintendents would be given the power to “put forward a motion” to the body running the school “to remove the headteacher during the school year without notice”. The body will then have 14 days to remove the headteacher, otherwise their contract will expire automatically.
According to the legislation, a headmaster could also be suspended by a superintendent “prior to a motion to open disciplinary proceedings…in urgent cases endangering the safety of pupils during activities organised by a school”.
Thirdly, superintendents would be authorised to approve the institutions and NGOs invited to schools to conduct classes or workshops. Approval would be subject to receipt – two months prior to the beginning of the classes – of the complete curriculum and materials to be used, along with the consent of the school and teachers’ council.
The bill also imposes stricter oversight on private schools and introduces sanctions if they are deemed to have hindered audits or supervision, including revoking permission to run the school.
Opposition politicians and media have labelled the legislation “a muzzle for schools” and a “nuclear bomb”, comparing it to practices of the former communist regime in Poland.
Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, an MP for The Left, suggested that education minister Przemysław Czarnek intends to use the proposed law to remove headteachers whose views are not in line with those of the national-conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
She said that using superintendents to make “purges” in schools would turn Polish education into a “farm” (folwark) where one person makes decisions on who stays and who goes.
Krystyna Szumilas, a former education minister and member of Civic Platform (PO), the largest opposition party, likewise warned that only organisations representing views aligned with those of the ruling party would be allowed into schools.
“Lawyers teaching about the constitution won’t be granted permission to run workshops at schools but Ordo Iuris, an organisation fighting against sexual education, will”, she wrote.
Radosław Brzózka, an aide in the education minister, admitted that tighter control over the organisations that can be invited to speak to pupils is one purpose of the reform.
“Superintendents will make sure that no organisation can march into a school in order to break the constitutional rights of parents or the law on education,” wrote Brzózka in a post retweeted by Czarnek. The superintendent will also prevent “headmasters under the dictate of local rainbow officials from breaking the law”.
Kurator oświaty będzie pilnował, żeby żaden dyrektor szkoły pod dyktando samorządowo-tęczowego urzędnika, nie łamał konstytucyjnego prawa rodziców i prawa oświatowego – o tym mówi projekt, o który zabiegają u @CzarnekP w @MEIN_GOV_PL rodzice #neomarksizm #FakeNews
— Radosław Brzózka (@RadoslawBrzozka) June 10, 2021
Many of the education superintendents appointed by the PiS-led government have strictly enforced its conservative agenda. Barbara Nowak, the superintendent in Małopolska Province, has regularly spoken out against “LGBT ideology”.
This, she claims, “indoctrinates children”, undermines “Polish cultural heritage built on the Christian system of values”, and involves the “propagation of paedophilia”. She has actively sought to oppose the annual tradition of “Rainbow Friday“, during which school pupils display support for LGBT peers.
Nowak has also supported the awarding of extra credit to pupils in her province for taking part in a contest to produce songs, poems, films or other artistic content opposing abortion, contraception, IVF and euthanasia.
Last year, the education superintendent in the Łódź Province claimed that the “LGBT virus…is much more dangerous” than coronavirus. His words were defended by the then education minister.
In response to the education ministry’s proposed new legislation, Sławomir Broniarz, the head of Poland’s largest teachers’ union, ZNP, warned that his organisation would discuss holding a strike.
“There have been times like this [in the past] and I had hoped they would never return,” Broniarz told Wirtualna Polska on Sunday, in apparent reference to strict control over education under communism.
“This is an attempt to intimidate the entire [teaching] community,” he warned. “[It] is a way to get rid of headteachers who have the courage to fight for autonomous schools, who have the courage to hold different political views; it is an attack on education.”
The Association of Polish Cities – which represents 330 municipalities – has also expressed opposition to the education ministry’s proposals, which the association warns would create “centralised schools teaching in accordance with the ideology of the ruling party and subject to political control”.
Main image credit: Adam Guz / KPRM (under public domain)
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
