WARSAW – Parents had until Thursday to pull their children from Poland’s new health education classes, which have sparked fierce political debate and opposition from the Church.
Education Minister Barbara Nowacka says the classes will broaden students’ understanding of physical and mental health. But the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and much of the Catholic Church argue they amount to liberal-left indoctrination. The Polish Bishops’ Conference even issued a letter urging parents to withdraw their children, with some commentators warning the subject endangered pupils’ salvation.
The government’s sample curriculum, however, contains no content in conflict with Catholic teaching, according to popular Catholic commentator Tomasz Terlikowski. Lessons cover topics such as diet, exercise, mental health, infertility prevention and the risks of the internet.
“Health, cyber hygiene, the ability to self-examine or mental health are not an ideology,” Nowacka told a conference in parliament on Monday.
Public opinion leans in Nowacka’s favour: A poll by SW Research for Onet found 53.7% of Poles support the introduction of health education as a schools subject.
(de)