In February, the Bolesławiec City Council adopted a resolution related to education reform. The result? Nearly 40 additional children suddenly appeared at Primary School No. 4 because their parents—wanting the best for their children—“re-registered” them so that they would attend precisely the “fourth school.”
How is this possible? A child is assigned to a school on the basis of declarations submitted by their parents. And the Municipality of Bolesławiec has no way of checking whether the information in the declaration—in this case, the address—is true. “All this somewhat distorts the proportions we wanted to establish while preparing for the education reform,” says Bolesławiec Deputy Mayor Kornel Filipowicz.
According to Piotr Roman’s deputy, this situation may result from a lack of information, because each of the city’s primary schools provides a high standard of education. The school on Jana Pawła II Street, K. Filipowicz explains, has excellent sports facilities, while the school in Dolne Młyny has the highest scores in examinations and tests. In Zabobrze, meanwhile, there is a school that cultivates patriotic traditions and is “cosy and safe.” The advantage of the “second school,” according to the municipal official, is its smaller classes and integration classes. “Why not choose other schools?” asks the deputy mayor. “I would like to encourage residents to consider the full range of our educational offer.”
If parents continue to “re-register” their children, they must reckon with the fact that Primary School No. 4 will become overcrowded and the City Hall will have to introduce a two-shift system there. (The headmistress of the “fourth school” is already planning to adapt one of the rooms for another class.) “And excessive overcrowding does not help the learning process,” the deputy mayor warns.
Kornel Filipowicz also points out that the municipal authorities disagree with Minister Anna Zalewska, because middle schools in Bolesławiec functioned exceptionally well. In terms of examination results, our lower-secondary schools ranked third in Lower Silesia last year. “So we are closing something that was a success and opening something that is unknown,” he adds.