Polish Learning Community and Resources: Education system in Poland (2024)

Many of you who come to Poland during mobility programs have the chance to take various courses at Polish universities and take part in the local academic life. While this may give you an idea what teaching and learning in Poland might feel like, it doesn’t necessarily give you a full picture of the Polish education system. Have you ever wondered how it is different from your own country? What kind of schools are there to choose from? At what age do children go to school? Read on, and you’ll find out!

Let’s start with the thing many are envious of – the compulsory, public education in Poland is free! Yes, all the way from kindergarten to the highest level of the university, the students don’t pay for the tuition. At the university level the students have to only pay the enrollment fee which is very affordable (for full-time studies at public institutions, of course). Compulsory education starts at the age of six. Parents are free to choose whether they want their children to go to kindergarten (przedszkole) from the age of 3 until the age of 6, but every child has to attend the so-called “class zero” (zerówka) of preschool in order to prepare to attend elementary school (szkoła podstawowa, colloquially known aspodstawówka). Since the 2017 education reform, the elementary school lasts eight years (which is a return to the system from above 20 years ago) and concludes with a final exam, which doesn’t, however, have a minimum passing requirement. During the first three grades of elementary school, the pupils are taught by one teacher as they study only a few elementary subjects such as Polish, maths, PE, etc. From the fourth grade onwards the number of subjects increases and each of the subjects are taught by a subject-specific teacher. The next level is either high school (liceum), technical school (technikum) or vocational school I and II (szkoła branżowa, 3+2 years – a recent introduction).Liceumlasts four years,technikumfive, and both finish with what is called the “maturity exam” (matura). The results of this exam are crucial when applying for the university. During the last years of high school, the students turn 18, which is the age at which they may interrupt their education, as it is compulsory only until this age. The final exams at the end of the secondary school consist of at least four obligatory subjects: Polish language, maths, modern foreign language and one subject selected by the student. The students are free to choose whether they want to take the exam on a basic level (poziom podstawowy) or advanced (literally ‘extended’ –poziom rozszerzony). Those who want to continue their education after high school have the option to enrol inszkoła policealna(literally ‘post-liceumschool’) where one can choose from a vast array of professional qualifications and gain solid, professional skills over 4 semesters (it might be a little longer or shorter, but 1,5-2 years is the typical duration). The classes last 45 minutes and there are 10-minute breaks between each class, and one long lunch break of 20 minutes in the middle of the school day.

Nowadays most young Poles decide to study at a university (uniwersytet) or technical university (politechnika), often completing both Bachelor’s degree (licencjat) and Master’s degree (magister), technical universities award the degrees ofinżynier(engineer) andmagisterinżynier, respectively. Poland, like elsewhere in the EU, follows the Bologna system, that is, the university education is divided into three level degrees – Bachelor’s degree (licencjat) that lasts three years, Master’s degree (magister) and Doctoral degree (doktorat), very often you will encounter the termsstudiapierwszego,drugiego,trzeciegostopnia(first, second, third degree studies). Typically university classes last 90 minutes. Many young Poles conclude their educational journey upon gaining their Master’s degree, which, very often, is required to in order to get a job. No wonder why over 50% of Poles have theirmagister!In recent years an extremely popular form of gaining further qualifications is to enrol in shorter, more specific university courses (studiapodyplomowe– lit. post-diploma studies, lasting usually a year or up to two years), upon completion the students receive a certificate to prove their qualifications.

As I’ve briefly mentioned at the beginning of this post, the education reform of 2017 has changed some things. For instance, myself, I went to elementary school for six years, then I went to junior high school (gimnazjum– abolished with this reform) for three years and, similarly, my high school also lasted three years. As you can imagine, for someone who has their school education far behind, it’s quite difficult to figure out what kids actually do at school nowadays, especially since there have been some changes in the curricula as well! One of the positive changes is that children start learning a foreign language from the first grade of elementary school (they used to start learning languages in fourth grade before!) – the language(s) largely depend on specific schools but, of course, English is the most popular choice. One last thing I forgot to mention, but some of you might be curious about – Polish schools use a six-grade system to evaluate the student’s work – the worst (failing) mark is 1 (jedynka) – if you get it on a test, it means you’ll have to retake it. The best mark one can get is 6 (szóstka)– but relatively few students get it as it awards exceptional achievements. On a university level the marks are from 2 to 5 instead, 2 being the failing grade, in order to pass you must get at least 3. Why it doesn’t start from 1? Don’t ask me! I haven’t met anyone yet who could explain that to me.

That’s a lot of information! I would like to know what you think about the education system in Poland. Is it very similar to that in your home country? Is it different? What are the differences/similarities? Is there anything particular you liked about the Polish system and wish it was adapted in your country? Share your thoughts on the forums!