Cyfrowa Polska Pitches National AI Rules for Schools to Education Ministry

The Cyfrowa Polska association, a trade group representing Poland's digital technology sector, has submitted a document titled "From Hardware to Competence" to the Ministry of National Education (MEN) and to the Sejm's (the lower house of Poland's parliament) education and digitalization committees. The document proposes nationwide rules for using artificial intelligence in schools and a new role of digital coordinator. It's the tech industry's response to years of programs that bought equipment but left no money for its upkeep or for teacher training.

What the industry proposes

Cyfrowa Polska, an organization representing companies from the digital and new-technology sector, published the document as a summary of years of observing how Polish schools have coped with technology rollouts. The conclusions were formally submitted to the education ministry and to the parliamentary committees on education and digitalization, meaning the proposals have a real chance of shaping upcoming legislation.

The key problem the document identifies is the gap between buying equipment and being able to maintain it. For years, government programs mainly funded one-off classroom equipment purchases, leaving schools with no money for servicing, software updates or licenses in subsequent years.

Seven directions for change

The first proposal calls for a permanent funding mechanism for digital infrastructure that would cover not just equipment purchases but also servicing, system updates, licenses and cloud services. The second is professionalizing IT management in schools, since according to the association a significant share of equipment bought under earlier programs isn't fully used due to a lack of central oversight.

The third proposal is to pilot an entirely new role in schools: the digital coordinator. This person would be responsible for IT infrastructure, help teachers bring new technologies into lessons, and coordinate the development of digital skills at the school. The fourth and fifth proposals concern teachers directly: practical training in using digital tools and methodological support, including AI-related skills.

Guidelines for AI in class

The most concrete AI-related proposal is creating nationwide guidelines governing its use in schools. The document states that teachers need clear safety and ethics rules, as well as practical guidance on using AI while teaching lessons and grading students, instead of having to figure it out on their own.

The remaining two proposals concern students: developing critical thinking and the ability to verify information online, plus education in cybersecurity and digital hygiene. The association argues that in a world where AI generates ready-made answers, the ability to reason independently is becoming a core competency rather than an add-on to the curriculum.

Even the best-equipped school won't realize technology's potential without properly prepared teachers - Michał Kanownik, president of Cyfrowa Polska

The bill for earlier programs

The document recalls the scale of the state's spending on education digitization so far. The Cyfrowy Uczeń program consumed 1.7 billion zloty, Laboratoria AI 1.8 billion zloty, and Pracownie STEM half a billion zloty. Despite these amounts, the association believes that without systemic funding for upkeep and training, the effects of these investments will fade over time.

For Polish schools and local governments, which are largely responsible for maintaining infrastructure, it's a signal that another wave of equipment purchases without an accompanying maintenance budget could repeat previous programs' mistakes. According to earlier survey data cited in the media, most teachers still don't use generative AI in their daily work, underscoring the scale of the training challenge.

What comes next

The Ministry of National Education and the parliamentary committees have not yet decided which of the seven proposals will make it into official regulations or funding programs. Still, the document is a formal industry proposal, submitted at a time when the ministry itself has declared that artificial intelligence and preparation for the digital world will be a priority for the coming school year.

The proposals for a digital coordinator and nationwide AI guidelines could become a reference point in the debate over who at a school should actually be responsible for rolling out new tools and making sure teachers aren't left to handle it alone. The coming months will show whether the association's proposals are reflected in the budget for the next school year.