Around 4.6 million students were heading back to school after the summer break. Starting the new 2021/2022 school year were children in some 20,000 schools nationwide, state news agency PAP reported.
In a special message for the first day of classes, President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda said the new school year was bringing new opportunities as well as challenges for students, teachers and parents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda. Photo: Grzegorz Jakubowski/KPRP
"We have been struggling with the coronavirus pandemic for over a year now," the presidential couple noted in their message.
"We know how difficult and challenging this time has been for teachers, parents and students," they said.
The president and the first lady added they were glad that children and young people "can meet again at school today."
They also voiced hope that "this time no new restrictions will be necessary" and that "classes will be taking place without any problems within school walls," with no need for remote learning.
Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
After months of distance learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Poland aims to reinstate traditional classes on a full-time basis in all schools nationwide throughout the new school year.
Amid a sustained decline in COVID-19 infections and steady progress in vaccinations, Duda said on Monday that Polish schools were ready to resume full-time in-person classes as the summer break ends and the new school year begins.
The country's education ministry has rolled out a set of guidelines for schools and students to follow amid warnings of a fourth wave of the pandemic. These include hand washing, wearing face masks in common spaces such as hallways, and frequent airing of the classrooms.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced last week that schools throughout the nation would be provided with fresh supplies of face masks, disinfectant and other COVID-19 protection gear to ensure a safe return to in-person instruction during the new academic year.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks at the opening of the new school year at an elementary school in Branica Radzyńska, eastern Poland, on Wednesday. Photo: PAP/Wojtek Jargiło
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Source: IAR, PAP, prezydent.pl