The Dead Statute Association issued a report in April: "Student Rights in Poland. Awareness. Violations. Responses." We learned that, unfortunately, as many as 81% of students surveyed felt that their rights were being violated.

The students of the School of Economics in Poznan recently fought for softening the school rules. According to Poznan's Gazeta Wyborcza, the students managed to negotiate amendments with the management. They can wear makeup and shorter skirts from now on. They are however still at risk of being struck off the list of students for cell phones.

The statute at the School of Economics in Poznan is 144 pages long. Students did not quite like all the provisions, so they decided to write a petition to the headteacher. After a meeting with young people, some of the laws were corrected, as Gazeta Wyborcza reports.

The youth managed to win changes on issues that are problematic in schools nationwide, namely those concerning dress and makeup. Those rules were softened, and the specified length of skirts and shorts in centimeters was deleted from the statute. Now students are allowed to wear shorts and skirts up to mid-thigh length.

Schoolgirls do not have to be "without make-up". They are now expected to have make-up in an appropriate manner and failure to comply with the rule will not be punished. Still, as Gazeta Wyborcza reports, the ban on coming in sweatshirts with the name of sports clubs has been maintained.

Previously, the rules also included covering the back, neckline and abdomen. This has not changed. In the statute , one can also find indications of what students can wear. Boys can only wear trousers to school. Girls can wear trousers, skirts or dresses.

There was also a provision in the statute regarding cell phones. The school statute prohibited their use during breaks and in class. If a student was caught using a cell phone during class, he or she could be removed from the student list. This provision has not changed.

Previously, youngsters were also expelled for low attendance (if they were absent for more than 100 hours). It was agreed that now such a punishment would be imposed only for "unexcused absences".

"I'm glad that the youth wrote the petition, because such a situation at this school has never happened before. This shows that there is an area where joint action needs to be taken. After all, it's not a matter of digging in and shooting at each other," the headteacher stressed in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, also explaining why he decided to keep the cell phone provision.

The situation at the School of Economics in Poznań shows that it is worth fighting for one's rights and trying to discuss them with the management. Unfortunately, some provisions in the revised statute still raise questions.

The authors of the Dead Statute Association report pointed out that regulations on students' appearance limit their freedom, and those in the statutes of the Poznan school are still quite detailed. As for the rights related to cell phones, they continue to be quite vague. The matter is being addressed by the Minister of Education Przemyslaw Czarnek.

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza