From September 1, 2025, health education will replace a course called family life education, Education Minister Barbara Nowacka said on Friday.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna and Sports Minister Sławomir Nitras, Nowacka said the new school subject was needed to teach students about mental, physical and sexual health, while focusing on "prevention and addiction problems."
The new subject will be taught in grades four to eight of elementary school and grades one and two of secondary school, reporters were told.
The course will "encompass a comprehensive, wide-ranging curriculum," Nowacka said. "We aim for a particularly serious approach to healthcare and prevention," she added.
"If we don't introduce this kind of education in schools, we'll be dealing with a society that's increasingly unaware of how to prevent diseases, how to counteract the effects of a lack of exercise, and how to respond to emergency medical situations," Nowacka told reporters.
She announced that a team of experts from three government ministries would be tasked with designing the details of the new course.
The project will include educating teachers to ensure they are prepared to offer instruction in the new subject, Nowacka said.
She told reporters that her education ministry plans to conduct "extensive public consultations" on the project later this year.
Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna told the news conference that "prevention is key" because it allows people to live longer and healthier lives.
"It's hard to imagine a better time than school to develop healthy lifestyle habits," she said.
Sports Minister Sławomir Nitras said the new course would be "another component of efforts to counter obesity and a lack of motor skills among schoolchildren."
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, glos.pl