Over 70,000 Polish schoolchildren may fail to pass exams due to a mass teachers strike, the country's children ombudsman, Mikolaj Pawlak, told reporters on Tuesday
WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2019) Over 70,000 Polish schoolchildren may fail to pass exams due to a mass teachers strike, the country's children ombudsman, Mikolaj Pawlak, told reporters on Tuesday.Teachers across Poland announced an open-ended strike on Monday after the government and unions failed to agree on proposed wage increases. The situation is complicated by the fact that a few days after the start of the strike there should be school exams in Poland, which are scheduled for April 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 17.
"The events of the recent days, namely the strike of teachers, has a bad effect on the whole situation. Let's look at the facts. The exams are expected to start tomorrow and 350,000 schoolchildren need to pass them ... We have over 70,000 children who are currently not sure whether these exams will take place. And this is the most important event for these children in their young life," Pawlak said.
According to Slawomir Broniarz, the leader of the Polish Teachers' Union, nearly 75 percent of all schools and almost 600,000 teachers are involved in the strike. At the same time, the Polish Ministry of National education said that less than 50 percent of schools joined the strike.
The authorities are now looking for teachers across the country who are ready to work during the exams. Last week, Polish Education Minister Anna Zalewska signed a decree granting any person with a pedagogical qualification the right to be a member of an examination and supervisory commission at the exams.
