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As from the 1^st of September 1999, in accordance with the Act of the 8^,h of January 1999 including Provisions for the Reform of the School System, a reformed compulsory school structure has been implemented which comprises the following types of school education institutions:

•    6-year primary schools,

•    3-year gymnasiums,

The process of the implementation of the reform of the post-gymnasium school system, spread over several stages was initiated on 1^sl of September 2002 and will last till September 2005.

Thus on 1^st of September 2002 - in accordance with the Act of 21 November 2001 amending the Act -Teachers’ Charter, Act on School Education System as well as the Act - Provisions Introducing the Reform of the School System - the following types of post - gymnasium schools were established:

•    2-3 year basie vocational schools (zasadnicze szkoły zawodowe)

•    3-year generał secondary schools (licea ogólnokształcące)

•    3-year specialised secondary schools (licea profilowane)

•    4-year technical secondary schools (technika)

However the supplementary schools for graduates of basie vocational schools will start to function on 1^S| of September 2004, which means:

•    2-year supplementary generał secondary school (szkoły uzupełniające dla absolwentów zasadniczych szkół zawodowych)

•    3-year supplementary technical secondary schools (technika uzupełniające)

On the other hand the vocational schools for the graduates of generał secondary schools will start to function on 1^sl of September 2005, which means:

•    Post-secondary schools of the duration of education no longer than 2,5 years.

Thus, until the year 2005, the education covering the graduates of gymnasiums and 8-year primary schools, which were functioning till the year 2000, will be provided within the structures of previously existing different types of post-primary schools as well as in newly established post-gymnasium school institutions.

2. Public and non-public schools

Pursuant to the Act on School Education in force, primary schools, gymnasiums and post-gymnasium schools may all be public or non-public. The tum of the 80-ties and 90-ties saw the establishment of a considerable number of non-public schools; hardly known in Poland previously (with few schools of this type run by religious orders and the PAX association), these schools were set up by various associations and private persons.

Non-public schools are established and administered by legał or natural persons, and public schools by public administration and local government agencies.

According to the definition given in the School Education Act, a public school is an establishment which:

•    provides free education within framework timetables;

•    reeruits pupils on the basis of the generał access principle;

•    employs teachers holding ąualifications which are defined in separate legislation;

•    implements:

• curricula which are based on the core curriculum for generał education and, in the case of vocational schools, also the core curriculum for training for a given occupation or a given branch of vocational education;

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