Additional physical education classes have been introduced to develop a habit of active lifestyle with children and youth. Instead, the school was flooded with a wave of avoiding sports classes. In higher classes of primary schools about 18 percent of pupils do not participate in physical education (PE) classes. It is even worse in lower and upper secondary schools where the percentage is as much as 30 percent.
Conversation with Mr. Grzegorz Buczyński, PhD, about the physical education system in Poland
Physical education
The NIK report shows that the reasons for avoiding PE classes are related to bad infrastructure, defective assessment system, and above all unattractive form of the classes. In the surveys students pointed out that teachers showed too much preference for team games and gymnastics. On the other hand, activities such as table tennis., dance, aerobics, swimming - which the youth finds attractive - represent only a small percentage of PE classes.
In September the auditors will visit Polish schools again. ”We want to check if something has changed there. We also have a message for the school principals: the bar is going up” - says Mr. Grzegorz Buczyński from NIK. He explains that when the training base is improving systematically and the new programme base allows for flexible and attractive sports classes, also the auditors’ requirements have to be higher. Besides, non-public schools will be audited for the first time. ”We have some signals that next to the schools where sports classes are conducted in an exemplary way, there are others where the situation is critical in that respect” - says Mr. Buczyński.
Have the Polish schools learnt their lessons? The new NIK report which is to answer this question will be ready by the end of the year.
