Deputy education minister: there were no guarantees everyone would go to high school

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This year, students from two age groups will go to secondary schools: those who finished the last year of middle school and those one year younger - the primary school 8th graders. This situation led to recruitment problems caused by shortage of places for candidates.

"I would like to calm the parents and students. There are places. There are over 100.000 places in secondary schools," deputy education minister Marzena Machałek said in TVN24's "Fakty po Faktach".

She also said that the carried out education reform "is not an easy operation". "It takes effort, namely reestablishing the 4-year-long high schools, reintroducing certain continuity of teaching," said the deputy minister.

She added that the reform introduced by PiS government "requires effort on behalf of everyone responsible for the education system".

"We've created legal and financial framework. Local governments had three years to prepare for this. I'm sure that a vast majority are happy to see more students in high schools, and I often meet with such local mayors and headmasters myself," Machałek said.

The deputy minister said that "the first stage of recruitment has ended, and now students will search for available places".

Asked if everyone who wish to go to high or secondary technical schools, and not to vocational school, will find places, she replied: "There were never any guarantees. Always the entry exams decided".

"I'm sure that local governments have prepared a sufficient amount of places. Most of them will have the capacity," Machałek said.

Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English