All the Polish children from 6 to 15 years must go to school. Public school is free, but there are also private schools, which are paying. The education system is divided into three cycles: the primary education, which lasts six years, the college (gymnasium), which lasts three years, and the specialized college or vocational school.

Generally, Polish schools fills their first role, since 99,7 % can read and write. However, the establishments are generally overloaded and the State does not devotes enough budget to education, taking into account the demography of the country. In addition, the acquired knowledge does not always give an easy access into the labour market.

For these reasons, a change in education is observable since the middle of the years 1990. The Polish education system undergone deep transformations and try to face the new educational requests. In the same way, the Poles also became aware that the education and work are two determining factors for professional success. In ten years, the rate of the schooling in the secondary school increased more than 50 %, reaching today 80 % of an age group.

Other useful sections of the website

 

Practical life and expatriation in Poland

 

To go further

ec.europa.eu/ploteus - Ploteus: Portal on Learning Opportunities Throughout the European Space