Políticas y actividades de seguimiento al proceso de flujo de caja

Ad 43 and 44

Informing about the minority and regional languages and their cultures in mass media, and in the educational mainstream is an extremely significant issue for their functioning in the society. The actions in this respect, referred to in this section of the 2nd Report, do not fully correspond to the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.

It is worth noting that very useful initiatives undertaken in the past in the public media are not necessarily continued, they are not replaced by new ones.

A. 13. Comments Part III

It is very important to encourage the Polish authorities by the Experts Committee to "actively promote education of the regional or minority languages among parents and students". It seems that the actions presented in the 2nd Report... are insufficient in this respect. It is worth noting that some actions are taken not only at the central level, however no thought-out strategy can be seen here. Without coordinated activities of the government administration in cooperation with local governments, it will be difficult to change the present situation.

Most of the text devoted to this issue in the 2nd Report... applies to information on introducing the so-called new P12 coefficient. It is worth pointing out that this very necessary operation of the Ministry of National Education may only indirectly (through the attitude of local governments and schools) affect promoting "education of the regional or minority languages among parents and students". Especially that – as it was already said – additional funds calculated as a part of a general educational subvention in connection with teaching of the minority and regional languages are not expended directly for teaching of the these languages, but are at the disposal of the local councils.

Information on the web pages of education departments (as mentioned in the 2nd Report...

with regard to the Education Department in Gdańsk) are very important for promoting the minority and regional languages among parents and students. It is worth adding that such information (though addressed to the directors of educational institutions and local governments rather than parents and students) are on the MAiC website, and the websites of other departments e.g. in Białystok or Opole. Unfortunately, there are school-boards that do not provide such information on their websites. Also, they are not uploaded in any systematic manner on the website of the Ministry of National Education. It would be good if user- friendly information about capabilities and terms of teaching the minority languages is uploaded on websites of MEN, all the education departments, local governments, and schools. The promotional campaign prepared by MAiC, directed also to parents and children – the first in history, is encouraging. It's a shame that during its preparation, it was not consulted to a greater extent with minority communities. It will be possible to assess the effectiveness of this campaign after its implementation.

Q 48, 131, 217, 301, 383, 469

The 2nd Report... properly states that: "the Polish education subvention system makes local governments materially interested in having facilities in their area where minority and regional languages are taught, therefore this is the best way to promote these languages". However, it is worth noting that the local governments not necesarily are interested in allocating the funds obtained from the state budget for teaching any minority languages (or a

regional language) right for teaching the minority languages (or the regional language) when in accordance with the law they may transfer them for other purposes. It seems that it is worth considering whether the recommendations of the Committee of Experts which "encourage the Polish authorities to improve the subsidy system for the system of teaching the regional or minority languages to ensure continued education" should encourage to modify the existing system.

The 2nd Report..., addressing a recommendation by the Committee of Experts which "encourages the Polish authorities to monitor regularly how the local authorities use their subsidies meant for any regional or minority education", states that "Spending subventions meant for teaching any minority and regional languages by local government authorities is monitored by the Ministry of National Education" (p. 31). It may be worth supplementing this fragment by information on the result of this monitoring: to what extent the funds obtained by the local governments from the state budget for teaching any minority languages (or a regional language) are used for teaching the minority languages (or the regional language)? It is also worth pointing out that even in the case of observing through monitoring that most of these funds is allocated for purposes other than the minority languages (or the regional languages), the Ministry of National Education cannot in any way affect this situation, since it is consistent with the law.

It is true that "the amount of funds transferred to local government units as a part of a general educational subvention for teaching the minority and regional languages systematically increases every year" (p. 31). However this does not mean that the amount of funds allocated by the local governments for the minority (or the regional ) languages increases. It is because a problem persists of what part of the funds obtained by the local governments "for teaching any minority languages" is allocated for those languages.

It seems that in this section of the 2nd Report in subsequent passages (p. 31), we are dealing with terminological inconsistencies. The first paragraph mentions subsidies "meant for teaching any minority and regional languages", and two paragraphs later "parts of a general educational subvention for teaching the minority and regional languages". In the Polish legal system this is an important difference. After all, in the state budget (and the budgets of local governments), there is no funds separated for teaching any minority and regional languages.

A. 14. Comments