Polish president, first lady send back-to-school message

Almost 4.5 million pupils were heading back to school after the summer break in Poland. Starting the new 2018/2019 school year were children in almost 24,000 schools across the country, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

In a special message for the first day of classes, President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda said that “school is above all... a community of older and younger people who travel through a world of infinite knowledge, ideas, discoveries and experiences.”

This journey ”allows us to develop features that we need to make our dreams true—the power of intellect, the will to overcome difficulties, strength of character and self-confidence," the presidential couple said in their message.

They praised the role of teachers in Poland recovering its independence in 1918.

"An independent Polish state would not have returned to the map of Europe had it not been for the persistent work of Polish teachers and educators and the commitment and determination which Polish students showed in their school education," they said.

The presidential couple thanked school communities that have joined efforts to commemorate this year's centenary of Poland regaining independence after 123 years of foreign rule.

Poland last year went ahead with education reform to phase out a previous system of six-year primary school, three-year middle school and three-year high school and replace it with an earlier system of eight years of primary school and four years of high school or five years of vocational training.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR