President Piotr Roman informed councillors about his plans during the April session of the City Council. “We met with the Piarist Fathers from Kraków,” Roman said. “I intend to open a Catholic school in Bolesławiec. We would like it to be an institution providing education at all levels: primary school, lower-secondary school and secondary school.”
Teachers from Bolesławiec and the surrounding area would teach at the school. The institution would be free of charge. “The only difference is that the Teachers’ Charter would not apply there,” the president explained. “The school principal would part ways with a teacher who failed to meet the requirements. I know this is the dream of many heads of educational institutions in Bolesławiec and beyond. The Teachers’ Charter currently blocks the development of education.”
Mirosław Sakowski, head of the Civic Platform councillors’ group, asked Roman whether he was not concerned that the Catholic school would compete with municipal schools, which could cause some teachers to lose their jobs. “I am not concerned,” the president replied. “On the contrary, I am very pleased about it. We must ensure pluralism and give parents a choice. It is not the case that only people with strictly Catholic views want their children to study at such a school. During the Polish People’s Republic, the son of a Polish United Workers’ Party dignitary studied at the Piarist Fathers’ school. Even Polish United Workers’ Party dignitaries believed that such a school provided an excellent education.”
We contacted Katarzyna Biegasiewicz-Mularczyk, spokesperson for the County Office. “We view the initiative to establish Catholic schools in Bolesławiec favourably. Every expansion of the educational offer in our city and county is an opportunity for an overall improvement in the quality of schools’ work. Competition, by its nature, encourages an increase in the standard of services provided, including educational services. The schools of Bolesławiec County, as is known, have for several years ranked among the best in Lower Silesia. This year’s secondary-school graduates—graduates of our county technical schools and secondary schools—achieved the best examination results in the voivodeship. This is an excellent result, especially since there are 29 counties competing for the title of those managing post-lower-secondary education best,” the spokesperson emphasised. “And precisely because we teach very well, we do not need ‘outside help’. Therefore, we will not accept the offer of the Province of the Order of Piarists in Kraków to include a public Piarist secondary school—alongside a primary school and lower-secondary school—in the Piarist school complex being created in Bolesławiec. However, we have nothing against the Piarists establishing a secondary school in Bolesławiec as a non-public school with the rights of a public school, under the general rules applicable to everyone wishing to establish a school. We also declare our cooperation with such a secondary school if it is established.”
“Is the decision by the president of Bolesławiec to establish a public Piarist school complex (primary school and lower-secondary school) a good one? In my opinion: no,” comments Dariusz Kwaśniewski of the Bolesławiec County Board, responsible, among other things, for education. “But of course, the president has the right to make even a bad decision. In an era of demographic decline, creating such a school will harm the municipal education system. A system that is not particularly well organised or managed by municipal officials as it is. I would remind you that the city contributes several million zlotys to municipal schools every year, while teachers still earn less than they should. This is an issue that should be addressed by those responsible for managing schools at city hall.”
“I also do not believe that professors from Kraków will teach at this school; more likely it will be local teachers who failed to find employment in schools run by local-government authorities. They will therefore not be ‘the best of the best’,” Kwaśniewski continues. “So how, if not through the effective work of the best teachers, does the president intend to build the prestige and standard of the new school? The mere designation ‘Catholic’ is not enough to make a school excellent—surely that is obvious.”
He adds: “There are also doubts about the motives behind the decision to establish a Catholic school. Apparently, it is being created—as the second deputy president Kornel Filipowicz told me—to raise the standard of teaching in municipal schools. It is obvious that focusing on ‘raising’ the standard in two or even several classes of a primary school and lower-secondary school will not heal the entire municipal education system. The municipality’s task—and its duty towards residents—is to continuously raise the standard of teaching in all municipal schools. The children and grandchildren of all Bolesławiec residents (and taxpayers) deserve care and good education—not only those who attend the Catholic school. It seems obvious, but some people appear to forget it…”
We will return to the matter.
(information: ii)