A revolution is coming for Polish schools. The Ministry of National Education has already sent an application to the government

• Local government officials have finally got their wish - the Ministry of Education has prepared assumptions for amending the Education Law.
• The changes, including the possibility of allocating part of a school for seniors, are intended to reduce the operating costs of educational institutions.
• The Ministry of National Education intends to allocate an additional PLN 400 million from the reserve for education this year.

- Yesterday, the Minister of Education sent a motion to the government work programming team to include the amendment to the Education Law Act in the government work list - informed Marcin Nowak, deputy director of the Department of Cooperation with Local Government of the Ministry of National Education, during a joint session of the Sejm's permanent subcommittees on finance and local government structure and regional policy and spending of European Union funds . The session took place on Thursday, May 8.

The members of the joint subcommittees decided to find out whether the educational needs of local government units calculated by the Ministry of Finance for 2025 were estimated at a sufficient level and listened to information from the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy on the funds for education provided for in the National Reconstruction Plan . And they received such information, although there were no special novelties in them.

The Ministry of National Education confirmed that educational needs were calculated well, and even more than that. What was new was that, overall, local government units have more money than expected, because they ended 2024 with an operating surplus of PLN 32.6 billion . And also - what is mentioned in this text, that the Ministry of National Education submitted an application to enter the amendment to the Education Law into the list of government works. Why is this so important?

The amendment increases the competences of local government units, increases autonomy in the creation of a network of schools and may also contribute to a certain rationalization of expenses related to the growing costs of education, which, due to the demographic crisis, are increasingly being raised by the authorities of rural communes and small towns.

As Marcin Nowak emphasized, there are several changes that the MEN proposes in this amendment. On their basis , local governments will gain the possibility of using some school facilities to carry out other tasks , for example related to nursery care, care for seniors, health care or culture.

The project also assumes more flexible creation of a network of schools.

We will facilitate the possibility of creating branches. In addition, we will facilitate the creation of primary schools with an incomplete structure - schools for younger children in grades 1-3 or 1-4, as well as for older children in grades 4-8. So that ultimately, in the event of demographic problems, local governments will be able to create smaller schools for younger children and collective schools for older children

- he explained.

He added that the Ministry of National Education also assumes a certain facilitation in the creation of combined classes in small schools. They will be possible to create them more flexibly than now, which may also result in a certain rationalization of costs.

The planned regulations are also intended to reduce the bureaucratic burdens that currently occur when shaping the school network.

We propose to abandon the binding opinion of the superintendent in certain matters. Among others, when creating a network of schools and kindergartens and when creating complexes of schools and facilities. In addition, we want to facilitate the creation of complexes of schools of the same type. So that small communes will be able to create complexes consisting of several primary schools, which is not possible now -

- he said.

And this is ultimately supposed to enable a certain rationalization of the structure of small schools and create certain opportunities for reducing costs, mainly administrative ones.

The procedure related to school liquidation is also to be simplified, although - as he emphasized - in the case of the intention to liquidate a school, they will still have to obtain a positive opinion from the superintendent. However, local governments will no longer have to send registered letters to parents informing them of the intention to liquidate a school, because it will be possible to do so through, for example, a notice.

The process of appealing a negative decision of the curator, if such a decision actually occurs, is also to be simplified. The second-level body will no longer be the Minister of Education, but the territorially competent administrative court - explained director Nowak.

He expressed hope that all these changes, which will soon be submitted for consultation, will facilitate the shaping of the school network and the rationalization of educational expenditure.

The MEN representative did not want to comment on whether the superintendent's opinion would still be binding in the matter of appointing and dismissing the school principal. He only stated that changes are not expected here, but work is still in progress, so anything is possible.

Referring to questions regarding funds allocated for the educational needs of local government units, he explained that the amount of PLN 11.5 billion , by which the educational needs are higher than the subsidy in 2024, can be increased by a reserve to supplement the income of local government units, which will also be transferred to local governments.

- We do not know the (exact) amount yet, but it could be around PLN 400 million additionally in 2025 - he said.

At the same time, Mirosław Stańczyk, deputy director of the Department of Local Government Finance at the Ministry of Finance, denied the information that appeared at this meeting that there would be some correction of educational needs in May.

I want to firmly deny this. We are not planning any correction. And in May of this year there will be no correction of educational needs. If something happens, then, as Mr. Director Nowak said, there may be additional funds from the reserve, although it will probably not be in May, but in the following months.

– stated Mirosław Stańczyk.