According to a study by the Central Statistical Office summarising the last school year in Polish education, since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, 182.5 thousand Ukrainian pupils have started education in Polish schools, most of them in “primary schools”. Polish schools also employed 401 teachers from Ukraine. The inclusion of refugees in the education system is supported by European Union funds.

Most pupils from Ukraine were admitted in ‘primary schools’ – 64.1% of the total number of refugee pupils – and kindergartens – 27.4%. According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), secondary school pupils accounted for 8.3% of all Ukrainian pupils, and post-secondary school students for 0.3%. Due to a lack of knowledge of the Polish language or due to adaptation problems, every fifth Ukrainian pupil attended a preparatory unit.

The largest number of Ukrainian students – 78.6 % – appeared in schools located in cities. Mazowieckie (18.4 %), Śląskie (11.2 %) and Dolnośląskie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships (10.4 % each) were the leaders in the admission of pupils from Ukraine, according to the CSO report “Education in school year 2021/2022”.

Employment in Polish schools was taken up by 401 teachers – refugees from Ukraine and they were almost exclusively women (393). Ukrainian teachers took up employment mainly in cities – 81.8 % of them found employment there.

45.1 % of them were given posts in primary schools, 19.2 % in complexes of schools and educational institutions, and 14 % in secondary schools. According to the CSO, the largest number of teachers found jobs in Polish schools in the following voivodeships: Mazowieckie (28.9 %), Małopolskie (12.5 %) and Dolnośląskie and Pomorskie (10.2 % each).

Thanks to grant agreements, signed by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration with the European Commission, Poland received a total of nearly PLN 700 million to support activities related to the mass influx of people fleeing war in Ukraine.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński