Staff for Polish Schools, Support for Ukrainian Students
Starting this September, Ukrainian children residing in Poland will be subject to compulsory education. According to the most conservative estimates, at least 80,000 additional students will join Polish educational institutions. This poses a significant challenge to the Polish education system. One potential solution is the nostrification of diplomas held by Ukrainian teachers, enabling them to take up employment in Polish schools.
Over 100 teachers from Ukraine will join Polish educational institutions in the new school year, thanks to a joint project of the Polish Center for International Aid Foundation, conducted in cooperation with CARE Poland and the Mosakowski Family Foundation.
The PCPM Foundation assists teachers and psychologists in the nostrification of diplomas obtained in Ukraine. Thanks to this, experienced educators can take up employment in Polish schools according to their qualifications. PCPM also helps with the compilation and translation of documents and with contacting universities.
Not Just Big Cities
Over 100 people have already found employment not only in the largest cities like Warsaw, Łódź, or Toruń but also in smaller ones like Brzeg Dolny, Siedlce, Szamotuły, and even tiny towns and villages like Nowa Iwiczna, Chylice, or Leśna. We are still accepting applications. We invite people from all over Poland who are interested in nostrification. This is support for Polish schools and the adaptation of Ukrainian students through a shared language and experiences – explains Ewa Grodek, the Polish Center for International Aid Foundation project coordinator.
Additionally, PCPM offers specialized Polish language courses. Previously, local governments and education offices highlighted the challenges faced by refugee women related to the specific terminology used in school subjects. Therefore, the PCPM Foundation will also assist those who apply for the program and obtain nostrification in this area. Thanks to that, for example, a physics teacher knows the terminology related to this subject in Polish.
At the beginning of the conflict escalation, we employed over 1500 people from Ukraine, most of whom were teacher assistants. PCPM is constantly trying to help both refugees and the Polish education system. Now through diploma nostrification. This will be lasting help supporting overcrowded schools, students, and Ukrainians themselves, who can work according to their education – says Daria Żebrowska from the PCPM Foundation.
PCPM has also been running an Education Center for two years, attended by 220 Ukrainian children. Two years have already graduated with Ukrainian diplomas, and from the 2024/2025 school year, the Education Center will be integrated into the Polish education system, and children will have double graduation diplomas.
Scale of Challenges
The Polish Ministry of Education reports that 43% of the 3 million refugees who arrived in Poland in the first months of 2022 are children and young people under the age of 17. The exact number is, unfortunately, difficult to estimate. Among those Ukrainian parents who settled in Poland did not enroll their children in Polish schools, hoping for a quick return to Ukraine. After more than two years, these children remain outside the Polish education system, and their needs and problems are unknown. It is estimated that in September, the threshold of the school will be crossed by an additional 80,000 students, which is as many as the entire city of Nowy Sącz.
Another challenge is the shortage of staff in Polish schools, with a lack of about 16,000 teachers across Poland, so new teachers are more than needed.
“Supporting the employment of specialists from Ukraine in the Polish education system” is implemented by PCPM with the support of CARE Poland and the Mosakowski Family Foundation.
