Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, speaking at a ceremony at Częstochowa's Jasna Góra monastery on Saturday, questioned why health education – which he said attracted only 30 percent attendance when optional – had been made compulsory, while religious education, attended by roughly 70 percent of pupils, remained voluntary.
Nowacka, responding on Monday, said the bishops "do not know what is in the curriculum and do not understand the need for sound knowledge delivered by teachers".
She described the criticism as an expression of "contempt for teachers".
"This is either ignorance or arrogance," she said, adding that Poland had "brilliant, well-prepared teachers", including for health education.
The minister also suggested the Church's objections had shifted over time.
Last year, she said, bishops had raised concerns only about the sexual health component while broadly welcoming the subject.
"It turns out it was not about sexual health at all, but about a political row," she said.
Nowacka announced in April that health education would become compulsory from the new school year, with sexual health content remaining an optional module requiring parental consent.
An expert panel has been tasked with reviewing the curriculum and identifying which content will be non-compulsory.
The Bishops' Conference education commission responded in a 14 April statement, arguing that the subject should not be compulsory even with sexual health content removed, saying other sections contained material that failed to respect the constitutional values of marriage and family.
(ał)
Source: PAP