The Ministry of Education's recent regulation abolishing homework in primary schools has caused a lot of excitement since its implementation in April. However, it has recently been discovered that the new rules only apply to public schools. This information was revealed through the guidelines published on the Ministry of Education's website to help teachers navigate the new rules.

Iga Kazimierczyk, an educationalist and the president of the Space for Education Foundation (Polish: Fundacja Przestrzeń dla edukacji), expressed her concern on X that eliminating homework assignments may cause a division in the education system. The question arises whether assignments given in private and community schools will provide students with an unjust advantage. It appears that this may not necessarily be the case.

In response to a discussion about assigning homework in primary schools, a parent of a child attending a private school shared their experience in the comments section. "My son told me yesterday that the private school he attends is no longer allowed to assign homework. However, his school never did that because its teachers have always assumed that learning is a school thing and children should have time to themselves after school. The only exception to the rule was reading books." Whether or not homework is given in a non-public school varies from one institution to another.

According to an article published on wyborcza.biz, there are currently close to 10,000 non-public primary schools in Poland, including community and private schools. These schools are attended by approximately 7% of pupils. The headmasters of these schools have recently reported that the interest in learning in their establishments among parents grows yearly.

According to pupils interviewed by Gazeta Wyborcza, the main advantage of non-public education is the smaller class sizes. With around 18 pupils per class, each student receives more individual attention and avoids being lost in a sea of anonymous faces. Smaller groups also make it easier to prevent bullying and other disruptive behaviour.

According to the ranking of primary schools prepared by the waszaedukacja.pl portal, eight of the top ten schools are non-public establishments. Their students believe that the high results are not only due to the schools' development of young people's potential but also because they transfer students who struggle with the high requirements to other institutions.

Source: wyborcza.biz, waszaedukacja.pl