POLISH CHILDREN AND YOUTH FOUNDATION

THE IMPACT OF CORRUPTION IN EDUCATION IN POLAND

LEGAL ASPECTS

Teachers can not be prosecuted for accepting bribes because bribing teachers is not considered to be a crime in Poland.

According to the Polish Penal Code only public persons can be prosecuted for corruption.

Teachers are not considered to be public persons.

ETHIC ASPECTS

Corruption in education has a very demoralising impact on the young generation - there exists a growing conviction that money is more important than individual learning effort and intellectual capacities.

Beata Laciak: Corruption in education - forms and scope, Warsaw 2000, p. 79

Thing that can be arranged by giving a bribe

FORMS OF CORRUPTION IN EDUCATION

• "buying" positive grades
• "buying" entrance examinations to secondary schools and universities
• "selling" tests, final examination forms
• giving additional private lessons
• system of incentives for selecting specific text books

ETHICAL SOCIAL CONTEXT

• low prestige of teaching profession - negative selection
• lack of teacher's ethical code
• social acceptance of cheating during examinations
• gifts

Teacher to parents during meeting at school: "Your children will not cope with the program without additional private lessons. Either me or my friends can arrange for it"

1. Respondent does not consider such attitude as corruption
5. Respondent consider such attitude as definitely corruption

Teachers accepting gifts from the class (worth more than $ 100)

1. Respondent does not consider such attitude as corruption
5. Respondent consider such attitude as definitely corruption

FUTURE PLANSS

Activities proposed by Anti-Corruption Working Group

• social education and information campaign
• introducing standards for student assessment and examinations in all types of schools
• undertaking legal actions against "buying" examinations, selling and violating copy rights of dissertations.

Anti-corruption strategies in Poland developed by Anti-Corruption Working Group