Of the total, 3.24 million were enrolled in primary schools and 1.67 million in secondary education, according to official figures.
End-of-year ceremonies are being held across the country on Friday, where pupils will receive their reports.
Education Minister Barbara Nowacka is attending the main national event, held this year at a school in Darłowo, on the Baltic coast.
It comes at the end of a school year marked by disagreement between the government and the Catholic Church over two subjects introduced in September 2025.
Religion lessons cut to one hour a week
From September 2025, religious education in Polish schools was reduced from two lessons a week to one, scheduled directly before or after compulsory classes.
Bishops said the change showed insufficient regard for religion teachers and pupils.
Deputy Education Minister Katarzyna Lubnauer said it reflected public opinion, citing polling that found most Poles supported both the reduced hours and the new scheduling.
According to teaching unions, around 2,000 of Poland's 10,000 religion teachers lost their jobs as a result of the reduction.
A citizens' bill, backed by 500,000 signatures and proposing two compulsory religion or ethics lessons a week with results counted towards final grades, is still going through parliament.
New 'health education' subject
A new, non-compulsory subject called health education was also introduced in September 2025, replacing family life lessons.
Parents who did not want their children to take part had to submit a written resignation by the end of September.
Around 30 percent of eligible pupils took the classes, with participation ranging from over 40 percent in primary schools to under 8 percent in technical colleges.
Bishops called on parents to withdraw their children, saying the subject's content on sexual health was incompatible with a family-centred view of relationships and sexuality.
In April, Nowacka announced that from September 2026 health education will become compulsory for all pupils, but content on sexual health will be separated out, with parents – or pupils themselves once they turn 18 – able to decide whether their children attend that part of the course.
The Church's Commission for Catholic Education said this did not resolve its objections, saying these concerned not only the sexual health content but the subject's broader approach to marriage and family.
Nowacka said the Church's criticism showed bishops did not know what the curriculum contained.
The ministry describes the subject as covering not just medical and biological topics but also emotional wellbeing, relationships and responsible decision-making, alongside areas such as infectious disease and online safety.
Elsewhere this year, a presidential veto in December blocked a law intended to ease the rollout of a wider education reform, though the new curriculum is still due to take effect from September 2026 for first and fourth grades.
Parliament is also considering a ban on mobile phone use in primary schools.
A separate new law will allow local authorities to use small rural primary schools for additional community services, such as childcare or adult education, as an alternative to closing them.
This was also the first school year in which winter half-term holidays in the country were held in three periods instead of four.
(ał)
Source: PAP