Education and Training Monitor 2023

1. The teaching profession

Teacher shortages are a critical challenge, which, in the long term, might be mitigated by a decreasing number of pupils. According to the 2023 barometer of professions, teacher shortages are growing and affect all sectors of education, including special schools (MRiPS, 2022). A shortage of teachers for apprenticeships was expected in 258 counties (out of 380), for vocational education and training (VET) teachers in 254, for general subject teachers in 258, and for special schoolteachers in 219. Shortages also concern pre-primary teachers (151 counties)¹. In May 2023, there were 9 000 job listings for teachers (1.4% of FTE); 45 000 teachers were above the retirement age, making up 7% of the teaching workforce; and 3 000 had no teaching qualifications². According to a demographic forecast, the demand for teachers will remain at the current level for the next 3 years and might start to decrease from 2026/2027³. In December 2022, the Ombudsman reiterated the persisting negative trends in the teaching profession, which result in shortages. This puts children’s constitutional right to education at risk and may deepen educational inequalities (RPO, 2022). In 2018/2019 and 2020/2021, to address shortages, 52% of schools allocated overtime to teachers, and 38% employed retired teachers or people without the required qualifications (35%) (NIK, 2021).

The teaching profession is ageing more than the EU average. There is a low interest in working in schools among graduates of pedagogical faculties, contributing to an increased ageing of the teaching force (RPO, 2022). While in 2015, the proportion of schoolteachers (ISCED 1-3) aged 55 and older was 12.6% (EU 23.4%), in 2021, it increased to 21.3% (EU 24.4%)⁴. At the same time, the proportion of teachers aged 25-34 decreased from 18.8% in 2015 (EU 16.6%) to 12% in 2021, below the EU average (15.8%) (Figure 1). At tertiary level, academic staff aged between 25 and 34 made up only 14.7% of the total in 2021 (EU 20.9%)⁵. Given the demographic forecast, the act of 28 July 2023 introduced early-retirement rights for schoolteachers from September 2024 (Dziennik Ustaw, 2023). To compensate for staff shortages, the limit to work overtime up 1.5 FTE per teacher has been temporarily removed; however, this may put teachers’ well-being at risk if extensively applied (see below).

Figure 1: Share of school teachers (ISCED 1-3) by age group in Poland and in the EU, 2015 and 2021.

Several factors limit the attractiveness of the teaching profession. The teaching profession has faced many challenges over the past years, leading to demotivated teachers and staff shortages despite various teacher training routes. School heads report that the additional teaching hours allocated to staff lead to excessive workloads and consequently burnout, sometimes accelerating the decision to leave the profession. Following the pandemic, schools face the increased need to provide students and teachers with more psychological support. School heads also struggle with the impact of inflation on the financial situation of schools, the uncertainty of legislation (including on appraisal and career progression), and newly recruited teachers leaving their jobs (Wolters Kluwer, 2022; RPO, 2022). Unattractive salaries and the negative image of teachers’ work put off potential candidates (MRiPS, 2022). Salary increases of 7.8% in January 2023 were below teachers’ expectations and inflation (January 2023: 17.2%). Furthermore, many teachers need to finance equipment and materials needed for their work themselves⁶. According to the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Polish teachers’ professional satisfaction is the lowest among all participating countries (Kaźmierczak, J., Bulkowski, K. (red.), 2023). The task force on the teaching profession set up by the Ministry of Education in 2016 is still operational. Measures have been implemented to shorten career progression, reduce the bureaucratic burden and raise salaries for new teachers; however, there is no comprehensive strategy to deal with the challenges.

New legislation has significantly lowered the requirements for training new teachers. To improve the quality of initial teacher education (ITE), the 2018 Higher Education Act 2.0⁷ introduced the requirement that only higher education institutions (HEIs) that conduct research and use the latest scientific developments in teacher education may train teachers from 2022/2023. Non-research HEIs had to liaise with a HEI that conducts this research. However, the regulation of 23 July 2021⁸ on ‘academies of applied sciences’ (a type of vocational non-research HEI) and the act of 28 July 2023 waived the obligation for these academies, HEIs ranking low in scientific evaluation and even those not conducting research in the relevant disciplines. These changes may lower the quality of ITE, and result in an oversupply of teachers when the demand for them decreases.

2. Early childhood education and care

Participation of children above the age of 3 in early childhood education and care (ECEC) remains below the EU average (92.7%), and provision gaps persist in rural and disadvantaged areas. In 2021, the participation rate was 90.4%, slightly lower than in 2020 (90.8%). The participation of 5- and 6-year-olds is high at 98.5%, but fewer 3-year-olds participated in ECEC in 2021 (76.2%); their participation rate is 11.4 percentage points (pps) below the EU average (87.6%). Provision is insufficient, especially in rural areas and in some regions (Warminsko-Mazurskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie). In February 2023, 43 800 displaced children from Ukraine were enrolled in ECEC. A recent expert evaluation has shown that ECEC provision is still insufficient for children under 3, in particular in rural and disadvantaged communities. In those communities, it is important to raise awareness among parents about the benefits of high-quality ECEC for their children (Swianiewicz and Łukomska, 2022).

Poland aims to improve the affordability, accessibility and quality of ECEC for children under the age of 3, substantially supported by EU funds. In 2022, enrolment in formal childcare for children under 3 was 15.9%⁹. Despite increases since 2020, it remains far below the EU average (35.9%). The low participation rate is linked to high fees (almost 70% of childcare facilities are private) and insufficient provision. The high net childcare costs were mitigated partially between 2012 and 2019 (European Commission, 2023). The family care capital programme, launched in 2022, aims to further decrease the costs for parents. At the end of 2022, the Maluch+ national programme was extended for 2022-2029, which is to be also supported by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The programme aims to create 102 577 places in ECEC (47 500 new places until 2026 from the RRF, and 55 077 until 2029 from the ESF+) and streamline the sustainable financing system for running childcare facilities. Given the planned investment, it is crucial to ensure a high quality of pedagogy and care to benefit the youngest children and build parents’ trust. Under its recovery and resilience plan (RRP), Poland has committed to developing comprehensive quality standards, including educational guidelines, considering the Council Recommendation on high-quality ECEC systems¹⁰.

3. School education

Reading skills of Polish primary school pupils are overall high but they have deteriorated since 2016. In PIRLS 2021¹¹, fourth graders in Poland achieved a mean reading score of 549 in 2021, among the highest in the EU (EU-19: 527). Girls outperformed boys by 20 points, above the average EU-19 gap (11.8). Polish pupils scored 16 points less than in 2016, which is one of the biggest drops in the EU. According to the national analysis, the main reason is related to the impact of COVID-19 (Kaźmierczak, J., Bulkowski, K. (red.), 2023). The proportion of pupils who do not like reading rose from 23% in 2016 to 28% in 2021, and boys (34%) dislike reading more than girls (22%). Eighth graders’ exam results in mathematics and English continue to show high proportions of low-achieving and high-achieving students, which may indicate educational inequity¹². Initial research shows a larger educational loss among lower-achieving students caused by long school closures, which will also have economic implications (Jakubowski, M., 2023).

Students’ well-being remains a major concern.. In PIRLS 2021, more than four out of ten students (43.3%) reported feeling frequently tired when arriving at school, and these students performed worse than their peers on average (-31.3 points); this is the largest gap in the EU¹³. In addition, the proportion of Polish fourth graders who lack a sense of belonging to their school is one of the highest in the EU (Figure 2). Cyberbullying strongly affects students’ well-being and skills: students who reported being a target of hateful information shared online scored 50.3 points on average less than their peers¹⁴. Furthermore, 35% of students have psychological and learning problems, especially after COVID-19, and 9% of children under 18 have been diagnosed with mental disorders¹⁵. Children’s poor mental health remains widely discussed (Flis, J., Debski, M., 2023). However, government support for the well-known helpline for young people (https://116111.pl/) has ended, and information about the helpline has been removed from schools on the Minister of Education’s demand.

Figure 2: Children’s agreement with the statement ‘I feel I belong at this school’ and its association with reading performance, PIRLS 2021

Local governments face difficulties in financing school education, and schools are losing autonomy. The main restriction on local budgetary planning is the declining share of state funding for education (Statistics Poland, 2022). This has forced local governments to increase spending from their own funds. The state’s current contribution to education is not sufficient to cover even schools’ staff costs. Therefore, local governments need to prioritise basic needs in education, such as staff costs, over investments in educational infrastructure or extracurricular activities, which have been reduced (NIK, 2022b). While the financing of education and the overall distribution of tax revenue between central and local governments is debated, recent tax reforms (‘Polish deal’) further reduced local government revenues from taxes, and their capacity to finance expenditure at local level, including on education.

The act of 28 July 2023, which was not open to public consultation, has brought in a stricter control of non-public schools. If a school does not follow the regional authorities’ recommendations, it can be closed during the school year without the right of appeal. Furthermore, although the bill increasing the government’s control on schools’ cooperation with NGOs has been vetoed twice by the President, it was re-introduced as a citizens’ proposal, and Parliament passed it swiftly in July. Both laws have been introduced despite the objection of the school community.

Overlapping policy measures lead to further overcrowding in upper secondary schools. The hasty reorganisation of the school system in 2016¹⁶ created capacity and organisational challenges, including overcrowding in upper secondary schools in large cities since 2019/2020. In parallel, in 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, more cohorts of students (by 50% per year) entered upper secondary schools as a result of the 2013 reform (which had introduced compulsory primary education for 6-year-olds in 2014¹⁷). These students also face tougher competition to get enrolled in their preferred school. In 2022/2023, the overall number of students in post-primary schools increased by 8% compared to 2021/2022 while the number of teachers decreased by 0.7% (in FTE) (Statistics Poland, 2023). In 2023, students sat the school leaving exam (matura) in the new format for the first time, following the new 4-year curriculum introduced in 2019.

Despite schools’ efforts, integrating high numbers of migrant children remains a challenge. Poland continues to allow parents of Ukrainian children choose whether to enrol their child in a local school or to follow online Ukrainian education. Municipalities must monitor the educational obligation based on parents’ declarations. In May 2023, 181 770 displaced Ukrainian children and young people of schooling age attended schools and pre-schools (around 55% of all Ukrainian school-age children). The remainder is outside the Polish schooling system (UNESCO, 2023). Independent experts and the Ombudsman stress the need to improve the legal and educational framework to address the needs of migrant students and tackle the shortage of school support staff (AI, 2023; CCE, 2022; RPO, 2023; ISP, 2023). Poland lacks qualification requirements for teaching Polish as a second language and the related core curricula. To improve staff competence in supporting migrant students, a micro-credential course for school advisers will be developed with UNICEF (Box 1). Since many Ukrainian students have already followed distance education for 3 years, they are at a high risk of leaving school early, which could have serious social and employment consequences.

Poland continues reforms, supported by EU funds, to improve inclusive education for children with disabilities. According to the Ministry of Education and Science¹⁸, between 4-5% of the student population have special educational needs associated with disabilities. In 2022/2023, changes to the psychological support given to students were implemented, including increasing the number of specialists¹⁹ in mainstream schools. In 2023, Poland will finalise ESF projects setting up 23 inclusive education support centres, the qualification framework for special-needs assistants, and training 28 000 school staff on inclusive education. On special educational settings, the recent evaluation of the Supreme Audit that focused on pupils with hearing impairments concluded that their educational needs were not fully met (NIK, 2022a).

The digital and green transitions require strengthened policy efforts, including in the education sector. Under its RRP, Poland has committed to developing its digitalisation policy for schools to improve the use of new technologies and ensure an equal access to ICT equipment in all schools. By providing more digital skills training and equipment in schools, the OECD states that digital education can be turned into a driver for Poland’s socio-economic growth (OECD, 2023). In the context of the green transition, Poland, like other EU countries, has received a cross-cutting country-specific recommendation to boost policy efforts on green skills and competences ²⁰, which are greatly needed in Poland (Lewiatan, 2022b).

4. Vocational education and training

Participation in VET is increasing. More than half of students (2021: 54%)²¹ at upper secondary level are enrolled in vocational schools. This reflects the increasing attractiveness of initial vocational education and training (IVET) in society. To further promote VET, Poland organised the international EuroSkills 2023 competition in Gdansk, co-financed by the ESF. The employment rate of recent VET (ISCED 3 and 4) graduates (aged 20-34) is quite high at 82.1% in Poland (EU 79.7%)²². However, in 2022, only a small share of them benefited from work-based learning (16.4%)²³ (EU 60.1%).

Poland has a strategy to improve the relevance of VET. To forecast labour-market needs for skills and qualifications, since 2021, Poland has implemented the secondary school graduates’ monitoring. School heads receive automatically generated school-level reports with standardised information on their graduates’ education and labour-market status. The recent report (Humenny et al., 2023) shows that around 30% of IVET 2020 graduates (szkoly branzowe) were neither in employment nor in education almost 2 years after graduation. Technical upper-secondary school graduates (technika) perform better, as only 15.6% of 2020 graduates belonged to this category in the same period. The parallel survey research on 2017 VET graduates showed skills mismatches (Bulkowski et al., 2019). More than half (53%) of technical secondary school graduates do not work in the studied profession, every tenth performs a job little related to the skills acquired in school, and as many as 40% reported that their job required completely different skills than those learned in school. In August 2022, Poland adopted a national implementation plan for VET during 2022-2025, considering the economic, technological and digital developments²⁴.

Poland has committed to increasing employers’ engagement in upskilling and reskilling. Under its RRP, Poland aims to set up 120 skills centres in close cooperation with industry. The objective is to enable knowledge and technology transfers between business and education to improve the quality of vocational training, upskilling, reskilling and lifelong learning. The centres will also provide support to teachers and lecturers and cooperate with research institutions to ensure excellence. Up until September 2023, Poland had approved 86 applications for setting up centres and is working on the relevant legal framework²⁵.

5. Higher education

Poland’s tertiary educational attainment rate has decreased. In 2022, the proportion of people aged 25-34 holding a tertiary degree was 40.5% (EU 42%). This has been continuously decreasing since 2018 (43.5%). At 18.9 pps, the gender gap in favour of women remains significantly above the EU average (11.1 pps). The number of students has fallen over the past 10 years by 33.8%, reflecting a shrinking student-age population (Statistics Poland, 2022). The drop-out rate is particularly high among male and science students (OPI-PIB, 2021). The higher costs of living may also affect young people’s choices as a significant proportion (30%) of tertiary students in Poland are enrolled in private fee-paying HEIs (EU: 20%)²⁶.

The proportion of PhD graduates among people aged 25-34 remains low, at 0.4% in 2021 (EU 1.1%)²⁷. Furthermore, the number of PhD students is decreasing: there were 33 600 in 2019, 30 300 in 2020, and 27 500 in 2021 (OPI-PIB, 2023). The ‘PhD Schools’ reform will be evaluated in 2 years to obtain reliable results of the reform, excluding the impact of COVID-19.

The proportion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates continues to decrease. In 2021, the proportion of STEM graduates was 19.6% (EU 25.4%), down by 3.3 pps from 2016. The proportion of graduates in natural sciences, maths and statistics was particularly low at 3.3% (EU 6.3%), which may limit the innovation capacity of the Polish economy. The proportion of female graduates among all STEM graduates is comparatively high at 41.5% (EU 32.7%). The proportions of ICT graduates among all graduates (4.1%) and of women among all ICT graduates (21.5%) are in line with the EU averages. According to the recent evaluation by the Supreme Audit, Polish HEIs lack adequate ICT infrastructure and skills for online teaching and work. A need to design a strategy for developing and using digital educational materials should be considered (NIK, 2022c).

Insufficient funding is the main challenge faced by HEIs. This is reflected in persistently low subsidies for public universities and low staff salaries, which leads to the low attractiveness of academic careers. Academic representatives have called for a 17.2% increase in salaries and EUR 4 billion more in funding in 2023. They have also requested additional funding for research infrastructure and the national science centre (KRASP, 2022). In January 2023, the minimum monthly basic salary of a professor at a public university increased by 12.5%. A new Nicolaus Copernicus Academy was set up despite the financial challenges and criticism by part of the scientific community for duplicating the work of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Scientific evaluation results and a lack of proper consultation continue to raise concerns. The final results of the evaluation of HEIs’ scientific performance according to new rules confirmed initial concerns (European Commission, 2022). As a result, more HEIs can now grant PhDs and habilitation. Since these evaluation results are linked to financing, some large HEIs are negatively affected. Academics are also concerned about the Minister of Education’s continued disregard for higher education procedures. This includes the unilateral modification of the index of journals used in the evaluation procedure and the unilateral appointment of 11 members to the National Science Centre Council while rejecting almost all candidates proposed by the Identification Team. Despite objections from medical HEIs and the professional community²⁸ and lack of broad public consultations, the act of 28 July 2023 lowered the requirements for running medical studies. The disregard for academia and other bodies raises doubts about the overall focus on the quality of Polish higher education.

6. Adult learning

The low levels of adult participation in learning and digital skills remain long-term challenges. In 2022, adult participation in education and training (over the past 4 weeks) increased to 7.6% (EU 11.9%)²⁹. Digital skills have improved in recent years, but Poland is still one of the EU countries with the lowest performance in digital skills according to the EU Digital Economy and Society Index. Only 43% of people aged 16-74 had at least basic digital skills in 2021 (EU 54%)³⁰.

Skills shortages are a challenge for employers. In 2021, 81% of employers had difficulties filling vacancies (ManpowerGroup, 2022), and 91% of companies reported skills shortages; however, 73% admitted that they do not invest in skills (Dębkowska, K. et al., 2022). The arrival of refugees from Ukraine has eased the shortage of workers, especially in services. Although 65% of Ukrainians have found work, according to the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, in 2022, half of the employed refugees performed unskilled jobs, and 46% felt they worked below their qualification level. There is a great need for Polish language courses, the recognition of qualifications gained in Ukraine, and training schemes for unemployed Ukrainians registered in labour offices (Lewiatan, 2022a).

Poland has prepared several measures to address challenges in its skills policy. A new tool based on the Open Badges standard, Badge+³¹, has been developed to organise the processes of issuing, collecting and sharing information on digital micro-credentials. To improve participation in adult learning, Poland will develop an individual learning accounts pilot, create a new mechanism for loans for training (Box 2), and establish a coordination mechanism of VET and lifelong learning policy in the regions (financed by the RRF). To boost digital skills, Poland plans to develop a network of digital skills clubs giving systemic support to adults at local level.