“The political storm unleashed by the Episcopate and right-wing politicians caused the subject to be introduced this year as non-mandatory. The obvious consequence of that is that a large number of students and parents, unfortunately, decide not to participate,” said Minister of National Education Barbara Nowacka, trying to explain the failure of her ministry’s promoted “health education” program. According to the Civic Coalition politician, parents’ reluctance to send their children to these classes does not stem from the curriculum itself but from “disinformation.”
For days, the Niezalezna.pl portal has been reporting on the failure of so-called health education. The subject, which government officials describe as “preventive medicine,” has been labeled by the opposition, teachers’ associations, and church organizations as “vulgar sex education.”
Nowacka’s idea met with a disastrous reception. Reports from many Polish schools indicate that the subject will not be conducted at all or that only a handful of students will attend.
On Wednesday, Nowacka tried to explain the situation. However, she did not see the problem in the program itself. In her view, the culprits are… priests.
“The political storm unleashed by the Episcopate and right-wing politicians caused the subject to be introduced this year as non-mandatory, and the obvious consequence of that is that a large number of students and parents, unfortunately, decide not to participate,” said the education minister.
The minister argued that both parents and students believe the subject is “very much needed,” but she admitted that “if classes are scheduled as the ninth lesson on a Friday, people have other plans and ideas.”
“We treat this year as a period for the subject to be properly introduced and for combating fake news. Minister Szłapka is responsible in this area — we are countering disinformation that has flowed from certain media and from most pulpits,” Nowacka said.
Asked whether health education might become a compulsory subject next year, she replied that a decision would be made after “studies, evaluations, and consultations.” She added, however, that if the subject were made mandatory right away, “we’d see a gathering of all the cranks — the same ones who tried to disrupt order and peace in schools during the HPV vaccination campaign.”
Blaming… TV Republika, too?
During the press conference, Daniel Świeciński from Telewizja Republika asked directly whether the program’s failure stemmed not from bad PR but from the curriculum itself. At that point, it “turned out” that not only priests and right-wing politicians were to blame — but also the Free Speech Zone’s TV channel.
“Disinformation was clearly spread from the pulpits. This subject — which covers health, diet, exercise, personal hygiene, and prevention — contains no material that would be inappropriate for anyone,” said Nowacka.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka then came to the defense of health education, saying:
“Have you read what the health education program actually includes? Yes? Then are you sure that the things broadcast on TV Republika were true? Because you know perfectly well that they were not. What appeared on TV Republika’s screens was blatant disinformation. You know that very well — it’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last. But we will be regularly addressing this at our press conferences.”
It’s hard, however, not to look suspiciously at the subject’s official curriculum. It explicitly states, among other things, that after completing the course, students should be able to “list gender stereotypes and explain their impact on human functioning,” “discuss the concept of psychosexual orientation and its developmental paths,” and “explain terms related to gender identity.”