Less religion, more health education: Poland is trying to modernise its curriculum to match the needs of today's children. The educational reform, set to start this autumn, includes separate classes for health and civic education, a ban on homework for the youngest, themed blocks covered from the perspective of several disciplines, and more project time.

Students will learn of the importance of regular health checks and physical activity, cover elements of sex education, mental health threats online, and more.

While these changes seem like a step forward, the biggest issue of Polish schools remains unresolved, as Jarosław Pytlak, an experienced headmaster involved in the teachers' movement, told The European Correspondent. ”There's no way to push through an immense topic of the education of some five million children without having a budget for it,” he says.

Poland spends about 2% of its GDP on education – less than half of the 4.6% EU average. The salary of a teacher with at least 6 years of experience is only about 1.3 times the country's minimum wage, making a teaching career less appealing.

Poland is certainly not alone in this struggle. France and Germany, for instance, face a teacher shortage, with about 4,000 and 25,000 vacancies respectively. Teachers in both of these countries complain about growing class sizes and an unmanageable workload.

With much work, stress, and limited pay, it's no surprise that over a fifth of Poland's primary school teachers face burnout. Their students are stressed, too: seven out of ten children name school-related stress as their most important problem, a 2024 UNICEF report found.