Barbara Nowacka: I have to protect the school from a political brawl

The new subject of health education, as announced by the Ministries of Health and Education, was to be introduced as compulsory from the 2025/2026 school year in place of parenting for family life (P.E.L.). These announcements were opposed by a large part of conservative circles, including the church. On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense and President of the PSL Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that it would not be a compulsory subject. Key KO politicians Rafal Trzaskowski and Donald Tusk spoke in a similar vein. On Wednesday, Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna stressed that she "does not let go" of the subject of health education, but made it clear that a "policy of small steps" will be applied in this matter - that is, that indeed, at least on the planned date, the subject will not enter schools as compulsory.

This information was finally confirmed on Thursday by the head of the education ministry. Speaking on RMF FM, Barbara Nowacka said that the core curriculum for the new subject is "a very good, smart, necessary program (...) that has been destroyed by politics to the extent that it has caused great, unnecessary turmoil." She added that it needed to protect schools from political wrangling, which is why the Ministry of Education has decided that health education will enter schools in September 2025 as an optional subject. - After the end of 2025, we will have a very serious talk with teachers about how this program is going. There will be an evaluation and it will give us a decision on what direction we are going (...). We will ask teachers, parents, students, and we will not ask politicians," she pointed out. The minister also assessed that opponents of health education have done great harm to children and young people by protesting things they didn't know and didn't understand, as they are the ones acting today to expose children to sexual violence, loss of mental health, ignorance and unawareness. - Politics stepped in when there were protests that were protests that were sadly devoid of rationality," she said. - We assumed that politicians were able to stand on the side of the youth, not on the side of their obsessions.

Doctors have already protested against the downgrading of the subject of health education: an unequivocal position has been taken by both the medical self-government and the OZZL Residents' Association. Medical authorities as well as representatives of patient organizations are also critical of the government's decision.