Poland's lower house of parliament on Wednesday rejected a Senate veto of a draft amendment to education law, knows as lex Czarnek. If signed into law by the president, the bill will extend the authority of boards of education. The Sejm passed the draft legislation in an unexpected vote during Wednesday's session.
At Wednesday's session, Poland's lower house of parliament, the Sejm, unexpectedly passed an amendment to education law, knows as lex Czarnek (named after current Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek).
In the vote, 233 MPs voted in favour of rejecting the Senate's veto, 220 were against, and 2 abstained.
The question of changes to the law on education, which are primarily meant to empower chiefs of boards of education, has been in the spotlight since June of 2021. At the time, the Council of Ministers adopted this project, which since then has been under constant criticism from non-governmental organisations, Polish Teachers' Union, and a number of local governments.
If signed into law, the amendment will extend the authority of boards of education and change the rules of NGOs functioning in schools.
The Senate voted to reject the legislation on February 4.
President Andrzej Duda met with Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek in late January. The president did not issue any statement after the meeting, whereas the minister said in an interview for pro-government public television that the head of state "has the right to hold reservations".
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24