The number of Ukrainian refugee children enrolled at schools in Poland for the new academic year stands at around 185,000, education minister Prezemysław Czarnek has revealed.
Many had expected the figure to be higher than at the end of the previous school year in June – and schools had been prepared for up to 300,000 additional Ukrainian pupils – but it is actually now 7,000 lower, Czarnek told broadcaster RMF today.
As recently as yesterday, he had said that the “number will probably increase” compared to June, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
It is estimated that there are around 700,000 to 800,000 school-age refugees from Ukraine currently in Poland, notes PAP. That means either that a large continue not to attend Polish schools, or that the estimates are too high.
Speaking to RMF, Czarnek said he believed that “most of these children for sure will be distance learning” with schools in Ukraine, many of which have been offering forms of online tuition to pupils displaced by the war.
However, the minister also noted that some other children have either returned to Ukraine – as many have done since Russia’s aggression became focused in the east – or have moved on from Poland to find shelter in other countries.
Speaking yesterday to mark the opening of the new school year, Czarnek expressed his “thanks to all students and teachers across Poland for the excellent reception given to Ukrainian refugees at all our schools”.
“There is not a single place in Poland from which we have received any information about problems in relations between our pupils and Ukrainian ones,” he added. “This is a great credit to our teachers, our pupils and our parents.”
Poland has been the primary destination for those fleeing Ukraine, with over 40% of those arriving being children. It is not known for certain how many of the millions who have crossed the border remain in Poland, but estimates suggest that it is well over one million.
Main image credit: Jakub Porzycki / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
