Education in Poland

Education in Poland
Primary
Szkoła podstawowa, Piekary Śląskie
Secondary
Liceum Ogólnokształcące, Warsaw
Tertiary
The Collegium Novum of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków

Compulsory education in Poland starts at the age of six or seven, per the Reforms of 1999, from the "0" class kindergarten (Polish przedszkole, literally pre-school) and at the age of seven, for the 1st grade of primary school (Polish szkoła podstawowa). Compulsory education lasts nine years. After the first six years of primary education, pupils join the gymnasium for three years (lower secondary education) and at the end, take another compulsory exam.

Polish Ministry of Education established by King Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1773 was the first ministry of education in the world, and the traditions continue. The international PISA 2012 praised the progresses made by Polish education in Mathematics, Science and Literacy; the number of top-performers having increased since 2003 while the number of low-performers decreased again. In 2014, the Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit rated Polish education as 5th best in Europe and 10th best in the world.

There are several alternatives for the upper secondary education later on, the most common being the three years of a liceum or four years in a technikum. Both end with a maturity exam (matura, similar to French baccalauréat), and may be followed by several forms of upper education, leading to Bachelor: licencjat or inżynier (the Polish Bologna Process first cycle qualification), Master: magister (the Polish Bologna Process second cycle qualification) and eventually PhD: doktor (the Polish Bologna Process third cycle qualification). The system of education in Poland allows for 22 years of continuous, uninterrupted schooling.