Education – difficult questions. The beginning of the Committee for the Development of National Education

Abstract

This  article contains important information about the establishment of the Committee for the Development of National Education of the Polish Academy of Sciences in December 2012. The author is a member and the chairman of this Committee. The role of the committee  is to generate a critical diagnosis of the education system, including the identification of its strengths and weaknesses, and to develop a holistic vision of education system in Poland for the next few decades, a vision which is both coherent and modern. The author presents a very critical evaluation of the current state of the education system, indicating various  pathologies and dysfunctions. The article also proposes an individual, subjective list of dilemmas of this education system which require urgent repair. Amongst other, these  include, a general levy for nursery education; a change from the traditional school model in favour of  progressive one (in which the school is seen as a multi-function centre for lifelong learning, which would favour the development of autonomy and creativity in each individual); a system of education nurturing a culture of decency, trust and cooperation; the elimination of harmful mandatory external examinations; the replacement of the confessional religious education  with education about various kinds of religions and cultures of the world; multicultural and transnational education; a reversal of the sequence of higher education – first, multidisciplinary education, then single-subject studies, culminating in post-graduate vocational studies, equality of all forms of studies, common payments for studies; the rebuilding of vocational education system and teachers training; the limiting of the powers of central authorities in favour of  local authorities and school boards. The hardest issue strategically, according to the author, may be a constitutional issues – that is, which model of democracy will be formed in Poland (participatory, market, national-Catholic), because the education system will adapt to the broader economic system and cultural heritage.