European Trade Union Committee for Education

Concerned about the negative impacts of the education reform that Polish authorities are intending to introduce, ZNP one of ETUCE’s member organisations in Poland, is organising a general strike for safeguarding students’ right to quality education today, on 31 March 2017.

According to ZNP, the proposed changes implies, among others:

• abolishing lower secondary education (gymnasiums) which potentially leads to the liquidation of a number of lower secondary education institutions and dismissals of education personnel;

• cancellation of obligatory early childhood education, thus limiting access to early childhood education;

• limitation of education personnel’s autonomy.

After having been engaged in numerous activities asking the Polish authorities for a referendum in order to consult education personnel and their representatives, parents and students, ZNP is staging a strike involving school leadership, education personnel, parents and students to demand immediate withdrawal of this education reform.