Schoolchildren “abducted” to attend opposition campaign event, says Polish education minister

A group of schoolchildren was taken “by deceitful means” to an election rally organised by leading politicians from the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party without their parents’ consent, says Poland’s education minister. The children were used as a backdrop for speeches at the event.

Following an alert from parents, an initial inspection was carried out at the school. It found that the 50 pupils involved, as well as their parents, were not informed of the trip and its nature beforehand.

The regional education superintendent announced that the involvement of the school principal and the teacher responsible for the trip will be investigated, and the case will be reported to the police.

W Ministerstwie Edukacji Narodowej odbyła się konferencja “Udział uczniów w wiecu politycznym. Skandaliczny przypadek z Podlasia” z udziałem Ministry Edukacji @barbaraanowacka i Podlaskiej Kurator Oświaty Agnieszki Krokos-Janczyło.

💬 „W czasie zajęć szkolnych uczniowie i… pic.twitter.com/nFO6ocqMOI

— Ministerstwo Edukacji Narodowej (@MEN_GOVPL) June 7, 2024

The incident took place in the eastern town of Wysokie Mazowieckie on 28 May, less than two weeks before the European elections that took place on 9 June.

During a school day, pupils from two classes at a local secondary school “were invited on a bus without any prior arrangements, without parental consent, and transported under the guise of a school trip to an election rally of Law and Justice politicians,” said Polish education minister Barbara Nowacka.

At the event – which featured senior PiS figures including former Prime Minister Beata Szydło and former deputy prime minister Jacek Sasin – the children were lined up behind politicians, who included local candidates in the European elections.

Za nami świetne spotkanie w Wysokiem Mazowieckiem. Dziękujemy Wam, za tak liczną obecność! 🇵🇱💪 następny przystanek ➡️ Kolno. pic.twitter.com/lHpjA7TQhC

— Jacek Sasin (@SasinJacek) May 28, 2024

“Minors were transported by deceitful means,” said Nowacka, speaking on Friday. “School is not for politics. Any activity must be done with parental consent…The parents are outraged; they’re talking about child abduction. We are outraged because we know very well that the law has been broken.”

The minister said that the regional education superintendent from the Podlasie province, Agnieszka Krokos-Janczyło, who had been notified of the incident by the parents, took action immediately and inspected the school later the same week.

Krokos-Janczyło, who spoke at a press conference alongside the minister, said it had been determined that electoral law had been broken, the welfare and safety of the children had been violated, and privacy regulations had been broke by using images of children without parental consent.

Poland is seeing a boom in private education, fueled by the pandemic, the upheaval of education reform, fears of politicisation of public schools, and teacher shortages.

In Warsaw, the number of pupils in private schools has risen 37% since 2016 https://t.co/fOXUxzJRVD

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 6, 2022

“The audit revealed that there was no consent from the legal guardians of the children, trip documentation was not prepared,” said the superintendent. “The children were not informed and acquainted with the schedule beforehand, but above all the parents were not acquainted with it.”

She said she had initiated proceedings against the school principal and the teacher responsible for organising the trip – which could result in disciplinary action – and that she would also “certainly report the matter to the police”.

PiS and its politicians involved in the event have not commented on the claims.

PiS eventually finished second in yesterday’s European elections – the first time in a decade that it had failed to finish top at an election in Poland. First place was taken by the Civic Coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Official results from the European elections in Poland show a narrow win for @donaldtusk’s centrist KO (37%) over the national-conservative PiS (36%).

The far-right Confederation (12%) took third and warned „Ursula @vonderleyen, we’re coming for you” https://t.co/zjYLtNNlZ9

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 10, 2024

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Main image credit: Jacek Sasin / x.com