The government will use the veto with regulations. Nowacka: Education reform will come into force
The head of the Ministry of National Education, Barbara Nowacka, assured on Friday that the “Reform 26. Compass of Tomorrow” will enter into force despite the presidential veto to the amendment to the Education Law. Changes to the core curriculum are to be introduced by regulation.
President Karol Nawrocki announced on Thursday that he had vetoed the amendment to the Education Law. It was intended to enable, among other things, implementation of the “Reform 26. Kompas Jutra” curriculum reform in schools in stages.
During Friday's conference, Barbara Nowacka admitted that the veto “will cause some legislative problems”, but will not stop the ministry's plans. She noted that “Reform 26. Compass of Tomorrow” will enter into force. It is to be introduced by regulation.
Nowacka: It's a good project
Nowacka argued that this project was based on good practices that have been in force in schools for years.
She pointed out that the amendment proposed that every child should have the same opportunities, but “the president chose to elitize education.” – Still, where teachers have doubts, or the principal is not motivated, or the local government does not want to invest in education – these good practices (…) may not come into force – she said.
She noted that the ministry has a “remedy” for this and from January it will organize meetings for teachers in each voivodeship “to show them how they could work – not top-down, but based on good practices.” The first meeting is to be held in the province. Lubuskie.
The ministry's management pointed out that the act contained a number of other provisions. It assumed, among others: increasing the textbook subsidy. These are funds that school governing bodies receive to purchase textbooks for primary school students.
The government sees no point in re-submitting the bill
When asked whether everything would be included in the regulations, Nowacka replied that she saw no reason to submit this act for adoption again. However, the ministry is considering returning to the issue of textbook subsidies. – Statutory issues, e.g. regarding textbook subsidies, will soon be included in the list of works – she added.
When asked by PAP what the implementation of the reform will look like in practice from September 1, 2026, the head of the Ministry of National Education informed that consultations on changes in the core curricula have already ended.
– The difference is that the framework we consulted was based on certain terms from the Act. What awaits us is to consult the old terms, but it will not change the content, she said. She added that consultations would take place “as soon as possible.”
Karol Nawrocki's veto was expected
Deputy head of the Ministry of National Education, Katarzyna Lubnauer, said that they were working on “version A” and “version B” in parallel. – Seeing what was happening at the committees, we always knew that something like what the president did could happen – she admitted.
However, she added that what was surprising was the “complete lack of justification that had any substantive basis.” And Barbara Nowacka said: “I don't think there was a stupider veto. (…) We expected a veto, but the argumentation was absolutely shockingly pathetic.”
In a recording published on Thursday on X, Karol Nawrocki said that the amendment would lead to chaos in schools, ideologization of education and “experimentation on entire age groups of children.” He emphasized that the proposed solutions, instead of improving the situation in education, could make it worse. He appealed, among others: to previous changes, such as introducing health education or giving up housework.
At the beginning of December, the following people appealed to the president to veto the amendment: National Secretariat of Science and Education of NSZZ “Solidarity”, Free Trade Union “Forum-Oświata” and Coalition for the Protection of Polish Schools.
Nowacka, in turn, later informed that the Ministry of National Education is prepared for any variant and the reform will be implemented regardless of whether the president signs the amendment or vetoes it.
The change in the core curriculum for preschool education and the core curriculum for general education is planned for gradual implementation, starting from the school year 2026/2027 in kindergartens and in grades I and IV of primary school, and from the school year 2027/2028 in grades I of secondary schools.
The amendment also restored the April date for conducting the eighth-grade exam from the 2026/2027 school year. It also resigned from conducting the Matura exam in Latin as an alternative to the exam in a modern foreign language. (PAP)
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