Changes are coming to universities. It was announced by the Minister of Science who came to Lublin

The visit comes as part of a series of meetings that have taken place since the beginning of the term of the new Prime Minister. All student governments and doctorates of public and private universities operating in the Lublin region were invited to participate. One of the main issues that Wieczorek drew attention to was the amendment to the Higher Education Act:

– We also want to hear what proposals are made by different academic communities in Poland, because the truth is that this law really needs to be amended and I think that today no one has any doubts about it, especially after what is happening at the Faculty Humanum.

The Ministry wants to focus primarily on quality, not quantity, in the educational process. According to the minister, the Collegium Humanum is not the only university that requires changes.

Analyzes show that unfortunately there are many cases of this kind, but this is still ahead of us and unfortunately requires legal changes. We will implement it, says the Prime Minister.

Housing and financial problems

Another major issue that the ministry will face is the issue of scholarships, as well as the construction and renovation of dormitories. Darius Wieczorek pointed out that we have 100,000 in Poland. Places in student residences, nearly a third of which are not available due to poor technical condition. The support fund, which is currently being used to build municipal apartments, may help.

-We want universities to also be able to use this fund to renovate and build dormitories. Initially, the university authorities also placed the demand for UMCS housing, so we also know and immediately point out that as soon as the President signs this law and it enters into force, we will be able to use these financial resources this year.

The Minister also cited the need for changes in the environment for doctoral students and the lack of financial resources for research development as among the most important challenges facing Polish universities.

– The problem of financing science can generally be treated as a major challenge for all universities, and perhaps not only public universities, but also private universities. I think this also represents a challenge for the ministry itself. We really care about transparency, clarity of regulations and the introduction or return to normal rules of operation of universities in Polish conditions – says the professor. Radosław Dobrowolski, Dean of UMCS and host of the meeting.

“New Doctors” vs. Polish Accreditation Commission

Another pressing issue is the analysis of the quality of education in medical universities. This problem should be resolved by the upcoming inspections of the Polish Accreditation Commission.

– If it becomes clear after the inspection that any of the universities in which these medical fields were opened, despite the decision and the negative opinion of the Polish Accreditation Commission, we will close these fields permanently.

However, future doctors who train there will not suffer from this. If the course is closed, students will be transferred to other state universities operating in the particular region. There is approval for this by the deans.

– No field of study will be established, and no new field of study will be established at any university in Poland without obtaining a positive opinion from the Polish Accreditation Commission. I announce that the Minister will not sign any approval to launch any track without this opinion, confirms Wieczorek. As he adds: – We will certainly not reach a situation where after 7 or 8 years someone goes to a doctor and asks himself whether the person standing in front of him is a new doctor or a real doctor.