Pupil and student mobility

Pupil mobility takes place mainly within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ Programme and, on a much smaller scale, within the framework of:

• projects co-funded by the EU and the national budget;
• projects funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism;
• youth exchange programmes co-funded by the participating countries as part of bilateral agreements;
• bilateral youth exchange projects funded by the Ministry of Education Science (until January 2021, Ministry of National Education responsible for preschool and school education) as part of the so-called public tasks.

A period of study / training or practical placement which pupils undertake within the framework of EU and other programmes is recognised on the basis of an agreement between schools / institutions participating in a mobility project. Vocational schools may also follow guidelines on the implementation of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), developed by Polish experts. Qualifications (certificates and diplomas) awarded at the school education level in other countries are recognised in accordance with national legislation. For details, see the final section of this chapter.

EU Programmes

Mobility takes place under the Actions of the Erasmus+ Programme (2014-2020, 2021-2027) for the school education and vocational education sectors and youth. The Programme is administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction).

Action 1 (Learning Mobility for Individuals) projects offer three types of mobility opportunities to preschool and / or general primary and secondary school pupils. As part of group mobility (2 to 30 days), pupils from the sending and hosting preschool institutions or schools can spend time and learn together. As part of short-term learning mobility (10 to 29 days) or long-term mobility (30 to 365 days), school pupils can undertake a period of study at a partner school or a traineeship at another organisation abroad.

Three types of mobility opportunities are also available in Action 1 projects to learners and apprentices in initial vocational education and training (VET). They can participate in skills competitions (1 to 10 days) or undertake a period of learning / training at a VET provider, in a company or another organisation active in the field of VET or the labour market as part of short-term mobility (10 to 89 days) or long-term mobility (90 to 365 days). In both cases, work-based learning is a major component of the learning programme agreed for each participant.

All projects can include blended mobility, combining physical mobility (with the minimum and maximum duration limits as indicated above) and virtual mobility.

Young people aged 13 to 30 years can also participate in mobility under Youth Exchanges and Youth Participation Activities which support non-formal learning. During mobility periods of 5 to 21 days, Youth Exchange participants from at least two countries carry out jointly a non-formal learning programme (including, for example, workshops, debates, simulations, outdoor activities) focusing on a topic of common interest. Informal youth groups can undertake similar activities and other activities such as awareness raising campaigns, training sessions and various online and offline meetings in Youth Participation Activities (3 to 24 months).

Additionally, projects funded under Action 2 of the Erasmus+ Programme offer short-term mobility opportunities to pupils and young people aged 13 to 30 years. Mobility in Action 2 is linked to the objectives of a given project. For further details, see section 13.4.2 ‘Other Dimensions of Internationalisation in Early Childhood and School Education / Partnerships and networks’.

Programmes / initiatives co-funded by the EU and the national budget

Knowledge-Education-Development Operational Programme (PO WER: Program Operacyjny Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój)

The PO WER Programme (information in Polish only) is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the national budget and, like the Erasmus+ Programme, is administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction). Funding is available for mobility projects involving vocational school students and graduates (and school education staff, see below). Grants are awarded to projects which received a positive assessment as part of Erasmus+ Action 1 (Learning Mobility) (see above) but were not funded due to the limited budget of the Action. Mobility is based on the rules adopted in the Erasmus+ Programme.

Multilateral programmes

European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism: Education Programme

The Education Programme is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and administered in Poland by Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction). Under the components ‘Institutional cooperation for the improvement of quality and relevance of education’, pupils can participate in projects supporting exchange of experience and good practice and joint initiatives with the donor countries. Joint initiatives include, for example, seminars, education events and intensive training for pupils, other learners and staff in formal and non-formal education sectors.

Bilateral programmes / initiatives

Bilateral programmes support various forms of youth cooperation and exchanges.

Polish-Lithuanian Youth Exchange Fund

The Polish-Lithuanian Youth Exchange Fund (information available in Polish only) is administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction). The Fund was created in 2007 by an agreement between the Polish and Lithuanian Governments; funding comes from the national budgets of the two countries. The Fund aims to promote friendly cooperation between the two nations. It supports Polish-Lithuanian youth exchange projects and initiatives such as meetings, seminars, conferences, study visits and publications. Through the implementation of joint projects, young Poles and Lithuanians discover their common roots and overcome national stereotypes, build an atmosphere of cooperation and strengthen the bond between the two nations.

Polish-Ukrainian Youth Exchange

Polish-Ukrainian youth exchanges (information available in Polish only) take place within the framework of the Polish-Ukrainian Youth Exchange Council. The programme is administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction). Grants are awarded for youth exchanges (meetings for sharing thoughts and ideas) based on non-formal education methods; youth events (festivals, concerts, workshops); and information and promotion projects where participants develop products promoting Polish-Ukrainian cooperation.

Polish-German Youth Cooperation

Established in 1991, the Polish-German Youth Cooperation (Deutsch-Polnisches Jugendwerk) organisation Is funded by the Governments of Poland and Germany. It aims primarily to initiate and facilitate new links between Polish and German youth and support and strengthen existing cooperation. Grants are awarded, for example, for school and non-school youth exchanges; exchanges / meetings on topics related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); projects involving participants from Poland, Germany and a third country; trips to national memorial sites, and internships in the neighbour’s country. Since its establishment, the organisation has provided grants for initiatives involving more than 2.7 million young people.

National programmes / initiatives

Youth exchanges funded by the Ministry of National Education

The Ministry of Education and Science (until January 2021, the Ministry of National Education) awards, on an annual and competitive basis,grantsfor international youth cooperation and exchangeprojects involving primary and post-primary school pupils (information available in Polish only). For example, in 2020, grants were available for youth exchange projects (carried out online due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions) with the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) and Israel. Projects aim to strengthen dialogue, foster mutual openness and tolerance, overcome language barriers, promote Poland as a country of rich cultural heritage and open to modernity, and raise awareness of shared aspects of history and culture.

Polish-Russian Youth Exchanges

Under annual Calls for Polish-Russian Youth Exchanges, funding is awarded for educational projects involving young people which aim to raise awareness of Polish and Russian history, societies and culture. Projects can be submitted by schools, higher education institutions and NGOs. The programme is administered by the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding, operating in accordance with the national legislation and supervised by the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport. The Centre’s activities are funded mainly by the national budget but may also be co-funded by other sources (e.g. international funding, donations, revenues from business activity).

Recognition of study or practical training periods and qualifications

Tools facilitating recognition based on European initiatives

The 8-level Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) describes qualifications awarded in the country as referenced to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). PQF qualifications are defined in terms of learning outcomes including knowledge, skills and social competences. Together with the Integrated Qualifications Register, the PQF is part of the Integrated Qualifications System, which was put in place in July 2016, in accordance with the Act of 22 December 2015 on the Integrated Qualifications System (ustawa o Zintegrowanym Systemie Kwalifikacji z dnia 22 grudnia 2015 r.).

Pursuant to the national legislation, the Regional Examination Boards, which are responsible for external examinations below the higher education level, issue a Certificate Supplement at the request of a holder of a vocational diploma (a diploma conferring vocational qualifications). The Supplement is based on the corresponding Europass document.

No credit accumulation system is in place in vocational education and training, but Polish experts have developed guidelines to facilitate the use of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) in learning mobility projects. These include materials in the Polish language, published by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, such as „Wykorzystanie założeń systemu ECVET w projektach mobilności edukacyjnej w sektorze Kształcenie i szkolenia zawodowe programu Erasmus+” (How to use the ECVET principles in learning mobility projects in the Erasmus+ vocational education and training sector) (2016) and „Efekty uczenia się i ich weryfikacja w projektach mobilności edukacyjnej: ECVET – Katalog przykładów” (Learning outcomes and their verification in learning mobility projects. ECVET: A Catalogue of Examples) (2018).

Recognition of qualifications

Recognition of qualifications (certificates and diplomas) is regulated in accordance with EU legislation and international conventions, including the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (Lisbon Convention) which was ratified in December 2003 and entered into force in Poland in 2004.

Certificates and other documents at the school education level are recognised in accordance with:

• School Education Act of 7 September 1991 (Ustawa o systemie oświaty z dnia 7 września 1991 r.);
• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 25 March 2015 on the procedure for the recognition of certificates and other documents, and the validation of a qualification or entitlement to continue education, obtained in a foreign school education system (as subsequently amended) (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z 25 marca 2015 r. w sprawie postępowania w celu uznania świadectwa lub innego dokumentu albo potwierdzenia wykształcenia lub uprawnień do kontynuacji nauki uzyskanych w zagranicznym systemie oświaty).

The following documents are recognised automatically, by virtue of law, without being validated by other institutions:

• maturity certificates / upper secondary school leaving certificates awarded in the member states of the EU and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and member states of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) – signatories of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, which give access to higher education in the awarding country;
• International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas awarded by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva;
• European Baccalaureate (EB) diplomas awarded by the European Schools in accordance with the Convention laying down the statutes of the European schools, adopted in Luxembourg in 1994;
• certificates covered by international agreements signed by Poland.

Poland has signed bilateral agreements, which regulate, among other things, the recognition of secondary school leaving certificates for the purpose of enrolment on first-cycle (Bachelor’s degree) and long-cycle (Master’s degree) programmes, with the following countries:  Austria, Belarus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine, and China and Libya. Detailed information about the agreements is available in the Internet Treaty Database managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In other cases, certificates and other documents are recognised through a recognitionprocess (nostryfikacja) conducted by the Head of the Regional Education Authorities (kurator oświaty) in a given province. Details about the procedure. 

Other useful information

Education of foreigners

Pursuant to the Law on School Education of 14 December 2016 (Ustawa – Prawo oświatowe z 14 grudnia 2016 r.), foreign nationals, regardless of their nationality and status, have access to education in public and publicly subsidised preschool institutions and public primary and post-primary schools, until the age of 18 or the completion of education in a post-primary school, under the same conditions as Polish nationals. 

Under the same conditions as for Polish nationals, specific groups of foreigners also have access to public secondary and post-secondary schools which take learners aged 18 years and above. These groups include, for example, nationals of EU Members States, EFTA-EEA countries and the Swiss Confederation, and individuals holding specific types of residence permits or status, for example, refugees.

Other foreign nationals may follow education programmes in the above-mentioned types of schools either as holders of a scholarship awarded by the competent body (for example, the Minister responsible for school education, a local government body administering a given type of school, a school head) or on a fee-paying basis. In the latter case, the body administering a given school sets the level of fees and can grant full or partial fee waiver.

Learning support for foreign nationals in school education

The school education system offers several types of learning support to children and young people in full-time and part-time compulsory education. These include:

• Preparatory classes established in schools for pupils who have no knowledge or do not have sufficient knowledge of the Polish language to follow a mainstream curriculum. Teaching in such classes is based on the curriculum for a given type of school and school grade, but learning and teaching methods are adapter to the individual needs of pupils and the teacher may be supported by an assistant speaking the language of the pupil’s country of origin.
• Additional or remedial classes covering subjects included in the school curriculum for pupils who need to bridge gaps in education resulting from differences between school curricula in Poland and the country of origin.
• Additional Polish-language classes for pupils who have no or insufficient knowledge of Polish to follow a mainstream curriculum.
• Classes in thelanguage and culture of the country of origin: classes or a course organised by the diplomatic mission or consulate of the country of origin or a cultural or educational association for a given nationality, and conducted in premises and with the use of teaching and learning resources which the host school provides on a fee-free basis.
• Adaptations in external exams to cater to the individual needs and abilities of the pupil; for example, the use of adapted examination sheets or bilingual dictionaries; extended duration of an exam.

Teacher mobility

Mobility of school education staff takes place primarily within the EU Erasmus+ Programme and, on a much smaller scale, within the framework of:

• projects co-funded by the EU and the national budget;
• projects funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism.

There are no national mobility programmes or projects.

The national legislation does not lay down any specific arrangements for learning mobility of teachers. However, pursuant to general provisions of the Act of 26 January 1982, The Teachers’ Charter (Ustawa Karta Nauczyciela z dnia 26 stycznia 1982 r.), full-time teachers are entitled to paid training leave to follow a degree or non-degree postgraduate programme or a training programme offered by higher education institutions and in-service teacher training institutions, respectively. Teachers may also be granted paid or unpaid leave for research, artistic or educational / training purposes.

There are no specific national regulations or recommendations concerning the recognition of performance or achievement abroad. However, a training period undertaken abroad is taken into consideration in periodic teacher appraisal insofar as appraisal covers, among other things, involvement in professional development activities (Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 19 August 2019 on the procedure for performance appraisal of teachers, including teachers holding a management position, detailed information to be provided in a performance appraisal sheet, the composition and appointment procedure for a performance appraisal board, and a detailed appeals procedure (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 19 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie trybu dokonywania oceny pracy nauczycieli, w tym nauczycieli zajmujących stanowiska kierownicze, szczegółowego zakresu informacji zawartych w karcie oceny pracy, składu i sposobu powoływania zespołu oceniającego oraz szczegółowego trybu postępowania odwoławczego).

State-budget funding managed by the bodies which administer schools can be allocated for in-service teacher training, including, for example, a training period abroad (Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 23 August 2019 on financial support for teacher professional development, specific objectives of in-service vocational training and the procedure and conditions for teachers undertaking in-service vocational training / Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z 23 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie dofinansowania doskonalenia zawodowego nauczycieli, szczegółowych celów szkolenia branżowego oraz trybu i warunków kierowania nauczycieli na szkolenia branżowe).

EU Programmes

The Erasmus+ Programme, (2014-2020, 2021-2027) is administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction). Teachers, leaders and other staff from all types of schools and other institutions active in school education and vocational education and training (VET) (for example, school inspectors, counsellors) participate in learning mobility mainly in Action 1 (Learning mobility) projects. Mobility projects offer three types of mobility opportunities: job shadowing (2 to 60 days), teaching or training assignments (2 to 365 days), and courses and training (2 to 30 days) at a school or another institution or organisation abroad.

All projects can include blended mobility, combining physical mobility (with the minimum and maximum duration limits as indicated above) and virtual mobility.

Additionally, short-term mobility opportunities are available to school education and VET staff under various types of projects funded in Actions 2 and 3 of the Erasmus+ Programme.  Mobility in Action 2 and 3 is linked to the objectives of a given project. For further details, see section 13.4.2 ‘Other Dimensions of Internationalisation in Early Childhood and School Education / Partnerships and networks’.

Projects co-funded by the EU and the national budget

Knowledge-Education-Development Operational Programme (PO WER: Program Operacyjny Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój)

As part of the PO WER Programme (information in Polish only) supported by the European Social Fund and the national budget, the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction) provides funding for mobility projects involving school education staff, including teachers, counsellors / school psychologists and pedagogues (and practical placements for vocational school students and graduates; see above). School education staff can undertake teaching assignments at partner schools and structured training activities and job shadowing placements abroad. Grants are awarded to projects which received a positive assessment as part of Erasmus+ Action 1 (Learning Mobility) (see above) but were not funded due to the limited budget of the Action. Mobility is based on the rules adopted in the Erasmus+ Programme.

Multilateral programmes / initiatives

European Economic Area Financial Mechanism: Education Programme

The Education Programme is funded by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway and administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (a new English-language website under construction). Within the component ‘Professional development of staff’, school education staff (and staff working in other formal and non-formal education sectors, except preschool education) may participate in study visits to the donor countries and intensive training courses run by trainers / experts from these countries. The component ‘Institutional cooperation for the improvement of quality and relevance of education’ (for general education, and for vocational education and training) supports mobility related to the development or updating of curricula and exchange of experience and good practice (for example, seminars, conferences, education events, intensive training).