“Poland is beautiful and has a great history, and being a Pole is a great pride. The education system should meet this fact. Knowledge of Polish culture, history, should be at the core of patriotic and civic education. I call it the pedagogy of pride”, said Minister of Education and Science Przemysław Czarnek, who presented the assumptions of the programme “School voucher – Meet Poland” in a spot posted on the social network “X”.

The programme is to be aimed at primary and secondary school students and is a combination of a tourism voucher and a programme to subsidise two-day trips. According to Minister Czarnek, this is an investment in young people, so that they can proudly refer to their own culture, history, Poland’s achievements, and feel pride in being a Pole, using the Polish language and national symbols.

“This means that next year almost five million schoolchildren will visit the most important places in Poland. We want every young person to be able to refer to their own culture and Poland’s achievements with pride”, said the head of the Ministry of Education and Science.

Minister Czarnek convinced that this initiative will allow to increase the educational potential of Polish museums, science centres, the monuments of our cities and the beauty of the Polish countryside. The tourism sector and the transport industry will also benefit from the programme.

Asked about the programme, Rafał Bochenek, spokesman for the Law and Justice party said that it is very often the case that many families cannot afford to send their children on “green schools” or short school trips. “The biggest cost is accommodation, travel, insurance, entry to some attractions, museums or attractive tourist sites”, Bochenek added.

The Law and Justice spokesman said that the list of entities and institutions that will be eligible for this programme will be published by the Ministry of Education and Science.

Adrian Andrzejewski