Biejat: Mental health of young people should be a priority

The safety of young people in the context of mental health should be our priority – said the left candidate for President Magdalena Biejat on Thursday in Radom. According to her, after the election, you should return to talks about the introduction of health education as a compulsory subject.

Biejat emphasized that they do not envy modern children, that they live in digital times, that they must function in social media, face hate, disinformation, and sometimes also with rejection.

As she noted, the program that was supposed to help the youngest, i.e. health education, unfortunately “fell victim to the election campaign”.

“Speaking of our security, our future, about young people, this is the most important thing and it should never be a victim of politicians, a bother between politicians and parties, and above all the superstition of the extreme right,” she noted.

“I will appeal and fight for the election after the election, since during the campaign it is impossible to clearly discuss substantively, that after the election we would return to the topic and introduce this item as a compulsory item” – said the candidate of the leftist for president.

The deputy minister of national education, accompanying her in Radom, appealed to students to enroll in health education classes, which are to be optional.

“This is not only an item that contains a component regarding mental health that helps and will help to talk about your emotions, take care of your and others' emotions, recognize the crises of mental health, make information on where, when and to whom to report, but this is also an object that protects children and will protect young people, e.g. from all kinds of crimes; who teaches how to speak +no +” education.

She reminded that from September 1, civic education enters school. “There is a powerful dose of knowledge about disinformation on the Internet, how to arrange this content in your head, revise, to know which sources are reliable and which not”-pointed out Piechna-Więckiewicz.

A new subject of health education, originally announced as compulsory, from September 1, 2025 is to be an optional subject in grades 4-8 of primary schools and in the ticket office of 1-3 high schools.

The announcements of the new item were controversial. At the beginning of December last year, a protest under the slogan was held at the Castle Square in Warsaw: “Yes for education, not for depravity.” Health education was recognized by the Polish Episcopal Conference as unconstitutional. Bishops, citing art. 48 and 53. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland pointed out that “sex education in accordance with the constitution remains in the competence of parents, not the state.” (PAP)

ILP/ MHR/