The Minister answers FAQ made by the Polish students

Last Friday, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Wojciech Murdzek, answered students’ questions regarding higher education in Poland. Starting the new academic year, they had many questions concerning both the sanitary regime, social and organizational issues related to the new academic year.

Below you can find some of the topics which were covered and the comments of the Ministers:

1) Compliance with the rules of the sanitary regime

The Q&A questions were concerned about the sanitary regime and the university’s responsibilities in providing students with masks and disinfectants.

The Minister has stated that the university, if possible, should provide:

places to collect gloves, masks, and special baskets for used personal protective equipment
devices for disinfecting hands and disinfecting liquid
constantly replenishing liquid for disinfecting hands in every toilet

 2) Student ID cards

ID cards are valid without having to extend them until November 29 this year.

Students had a lot of questions about the distribution of the ID for new students who will start the online semester. The minister assured that the decisions would be made by the university authorities in consultation with the student government. The developed procedures will be handed over to students by the university authorities.

3) Organization of remote classes and the upcoming academic year

The possibility of conducting examinations using electronic devices has been permanently introduced into the provisions of the regulations. If the student does not have a possibility to perform online classes because of technical issues, the student should apply to the university support program to ask for the use of its resources.

The Minister assured the students that the Polish Accreditation Committee would control the quality of education at universities. In addition, the quality of education could also be supervised by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The Minister has also emphasized how much he desires that remote classes do not affect the quality of the studying. At the same time, he emphasized that all practical classes in medicine must be completed in full, as they constitute the basis for graduation, issuing a diploma, and are a good opportunity to gain professional qualifications. The place of internships must be provided by the university.

4) Introduction of the new programme for research clubs

The conversation with students was an ideal opportunity for Minister Wojciech Murdzek to announce a new programme for research clubs called “Student research clubs create innovations”. The main task of the programme is to support student research clubs operating in the field of R&D.

Recruitment for the competition starts on October 12, 2020. The chosen ones will receive a grant of almost PLN 70,000.

5) The questions about the dormitories

Are the dormitory rooms supposed to be single?

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education, after consultation with the Chief Sanitary Inspector, recommends the maximum limit of contact between people using dormitories but does not require universities to provide all students with single rooms.

The President of the Students’ Parliament of the Republic of Poland drew attention to the fact of insufficient living conditions in Polish dormitories. The minister noted that this problem is known to the ministry and they are in the process of raising funds to improve the housing situation in student dormitories.

Source: https://www.gov.pl/web/nauka/studenci-pytaja-minister-odpowiada