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Poland sets up Council on Education of Refugees

18.03.2022 07:30
Poland’s education minister has announced the establishment of a special team of experts to help welcome children from war-torn Ukraine to Polish schools.
Polands Education and Science Minister Przemysław Czarnek.
Poland's Education and Science Minister Przemysław Czarnek.PAP/Wojtek Jargiło

The team, known as the Council on the Education of Refugees, held its first virtual meeting on Thursday, Poland's PAP state news agency reported.

The body is made up of about 20 experts, including former education ministers and deputy ministers, according to Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek.

It also includes "members of the parliamentary committee on education, science and youth, local government officials and school principals from around the country,” Czarnek told reporters.

Asked about the aims of the initiative, he said: “We’ll be sharing experiences and remarks because we are all learning the new reality, for it is indeed a new reality for everyone.”

Czarnek added that guidance from "experienced education practitioners" would help Poland’s schools reach out to Ukrainian children.

The team’s members include ex-education ministers Anna Zalewska, Ryszard Legutko and Michał Seweryński, as well as mayors of some eastern Polish towns and cities, such Stalowa Wola, Chełm and Zamość, officials said.

Around 65,000 Ukrainian children have joined Polish schools since Russia invaded their country on February 24, according to Czarnek.

Poland on Thursday reported it had admitted nearly 2 million refugees fleeing Russia's assault on Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, TVP Info