Polish universities tighten requirements for Ukrainian students

Poland has made significant changes to the admission rules for Ukrainian students, which came as a surprise to many young people.

Those who have already received confirmation of admission need new certificates of knowledge in the Polish language, as universities have lost the ability to verify applicants’ knowledge independently.

The situation is also tricky in educational institutions. Integration classes were created primarily for refugee children, but they were later transferred to regular classes.

“The teachers are strict; you need to know the language well. When I arrived, I did not know Polish, so I had to start learning from scratch.”

Says eighth-grader Veronika. She notes that she misses Ukrainian literature lessons, but is grateful for the opportunity to continue her studies.

Currently, approximately 200,000 children from Ukraine study in Polish schools. Of these, 150,000 are refugees, and another 52,000 have long-term residence permits. The state provided free education in music and art schools, but after the presidential veto, this program was under threat.

Ukrainian student Maria, who entered the University of Lublin under the “Talents” program, aims to become a programmer and return to Ukraine, as Ukrainian IT specialists are popular worldwide. However, her peer Polina has encountered problems due to new requirements. She successfully passed the Polish exams but was refused due to changes in the legislation. Now, a state certificate of level B2 or TELC is required for admission, which is issued only a few times a year.

“At first, they promised that level B1 would be enough, but then a new law was passed in the summer, which devalued all the achieved results.”

• explains teacher and blogger Akim Zakutny. He notes that universities are interested in talented students, but the new rules force them to refuse even those who have demonstrated their knowledge.

It is worth noting that there have been previous reports of possible penalties for Ukrainians in Poland for having children, as well as changes in conditions for refugees that will affect social benefits.