In recent months, Polish public opinion could learn about alleged problems caused
by foreign students with the participation of some universities. This
phenomenon – definitely exaggerated and wrongly called a “student
scandal”. Articles published, among others, in “Rzeczpospolita”
(July 4, 2024), Onet, the Bankier.pl portal or Interia, and previously in TVN24
and “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, they present an alarming picture of the
mass influx of foreign students to Poland, suggesting that many of them treat
studies only as an excuse to enter the Schengen area and a stop on the way to
emigration to the European Union. The aim of this article is to analyze the
data presented in the media and place them in a broader context, taking into account both the situation of Polish students and trends observed in other European Union countries.

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In recent months, Polish public opinion could learn about alleged problems caused by foreign students with the participation of some universities. This phenomenon – definitely exaggerated and wrongly called a “student scandal”. Articles published, among others, in “Rzeczpospolita” (July 4, 2024), Onet, Bankier.pl portal or Interia, and previously in TVN24 and “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, they present an alarming picture of the mass influx of foreign students to Poland, suggesting that many of them treat studies only as an excuse to enter the Schengen area and a stop on the way to emigration to the European Union. The aim of this article is to analyze the data presented in the media and place them in a broader context, taking into account both the situation of Polish students and trends observed in other European Union countries.

What is the essence of dropping out?

According to the OECD, the phenomenon of “drop-out”, or withdrawal from studies, refers to a situation in which pupils or students leave the education system before completing the planned level of education, without obtaining the appropriate qualifications or diplomas. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) defines drop-out as an indicator that measures the percentage of students leaving school before reaching a specific level of education. In Poland, the phenomenon of dropping out of school at primary and secondary level is relatively rare due to the compulsory schooling, which lasts until the age of 18. However, challenges such as difficulties in learning, family problems, or lack of support from teachers can lead to students dropping out of secondary school. The drop-out rate in vocational schools is higher than in general secondary schools. Reasons include, among others, lack of interest in the chosen field of study, difficulties with professional internships, or lack of employment prospects after graduation. In fact, the drop-out phenomenon is most visible at the level of higher education. In Poland, the drop-out rate from studies at universities was around 30% in the period immediately preceding the increase in the number of foreign students in the Polish education system, which is one of the highest rates in Europe. Concern about the high rate may be justified in the case of the Polish education system, but it should not be associated with the phenomenon of the influx of foreign students to Poland. It can be said that foreign students coming to study in Poland are somehow part of a trend that has already existed in our higher education system and has not been previously contested in the media. However, since the allegations concern strictly foreign students, it should be firmly emphasized that the drop-out phenomenon is not a distinguishing feature for foreign students compared to Polish students. Without going into the nationality of the student, generally speaking, research shows that the reasons for dropping out of higher education include:

• Academic difficulties, lack of preparation for higher education.

• Financial problems that force students to work at the expense of their studies.

• Lack of motivation and interest in the chosen field of study.

• Poor support from the university in terms of academic and psychological counseling.

If, therefore, remedial measures should be taken towards students studying in Poland, firstly, they should not be divided into Polish and foreign categories, as is currently done, and secondly, steps should be taken to limit the influence of factors motivating students to drop out of studies. The dominant factor among these factors will certainly not be the desire to quickly obtain a visa and leave Poland. In order to reduce the drop-out rate, Polish universities are implementing various remedial measures, such as:

• Mentoring and advisory programs for new students.

• Adapting curricula to the needs of the labor market.

• Facilitating access to scholarships and financial aid.

• Increasing psychological and academic support.

In summary, the drop-out phenomenon is a significant challenge for education systems around the world, including Poland. OECD analyses emphasize the need to take comprehensive actions at all levels of education to reduce drop-outs and ensure that all students have equal opportunities to gain an education.

The scale of the phenomenon among foreign students

Media reports that up to half of foreign students do not continue their studies after the first year. These data, although disturbing, require deeper analysis and context.

The report of the Information Processing Center (OPI) in the chapter “The scale and characteristics of the drop-out phenomenon” indicates that the problem of premature completion of education also affects Polish students. According to data, about 40% of people who start studies do not complete them. At the same time, only 48% of students complete their studies on time. This statistic suggests that the drop-out phenomenon is not unique to international students.

The perspective of developed countries

It is also worth looking at the drop-out phenomenon from a broader, European perspective. Although specific data may vary depending on the country and the method of collecting it, research shows that this phenomenon occurs to varying degrees in many European Union countries. For an accurate comparison, it would be necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of the latest data from individual countries. Poland is not an isolated case, and the phenomenon of dropping out of studies is common all over the world.

On average across the OECD, around 70% of students entering university complete their first degree, although there are differences between countries. In Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States, less than 60% of students entering higher education complete their first degree at this level; while in Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan and Spain over 75% do so.

The average completion rate for vocational programs (61%) is slightly lower than the average completion rate for university degrees, but ranges from 75% or higher in Germany, Japan, and Slovakia to 18% in the United States.

Analysis of second-year continuation rates in selected European countries reveals a significant pattern. In all the countries surveyed, he observes  sięa difference between domestic and foreign students. In the UK, 90% of domestic students go on to study, compared to 85% of international students. In France, these indicators are 83% and 80%, respectively, in Germany 85% and 82%, and in Poland 62% and 55%. This consistent difference, ranging from 3 to 7 percentage points, is a natural and understandable phenomenon. Studying away from home, in a foreign cultural and linguistic environment, inevitably involves additional adaptation challenges. Additionally, the costs of studying abroad are usually higher, which may be an additional barrier for some students. The fact that this difference remains similar across countries suggests that it is a universal phenomenon, not specific to any particular educational system. These data emphasize the need for continuous improvement of support programs for foreign students, while indicating that a certain difference in the level of continuation of studies is a natural element of the process of internationalization of higher education.

Natural phenomenon or pathology?

Contrary to the alarmist tones present in the media, the “drop-out” phenomenon is considered natural in the academic environment. This was confirmed by experts during a panel organized by KRASP and Perspektywy on July 10, 2024.

Moreover, dropping out of studies does not always mean definitively abandoning higher education. The OPI report indicates that a significant number of students simply change their field or university, continuing their education in another form. This observation applies to both Polish and foreign students.

The living situation of people resigning from studies

An important aspect, often omitted in media reports, is the residence situation of people who resign or are removed from the list of students. In accordance with applicable regulations, foreign students in such a situation automatically lose the basis for staying in Poland. This means that they cannot remain in the country or move freely around Europe, as some publications suggest.

This information is crucial to understanding the actual scale of the phenomenon and its consequences  a także wykazania, że studenci zagraniczny działają w Polsce sposób nieetyczny z zamiarem popełnienia wykroczenia. Students who would actually treat their studies only as a “passport to Europe” would have to take into account that resigning from studies means having to leave not only Poland, but also the Schengen area .

Critical analysis of media language

It is worth paying attention to the language used in the analyzed press publications. Phrases such as universities “attracting” students or “Polish visas issued rapidly” suggest an almost criminal practice. Meanwhile, active recruitment activities are normal practice in the global academic world, where universities compete for the best candidates. As shown in the previous APUI study, the internationalization of higher education is currently a phenomenon widely accepted and promoted all over the world, including in the European Union. The internationalization of higher education is a relatively new phenomenon for the Polish public. Until recently, it was difficult to find a foreign student at Polish universities. The first noticeable students in small groups appeared at Polish universities only in 2004 after joining the Erasmus program. Most adult Poles with higher education do not remember the university where foreign students studied, so the alarmist tone that there has been a real invasion of foreign students in Poland due to the avalanche of visas issued is partly due to the (lack of) personal experiences of many Poles. However, it is worth noting that using pejorative language in relation to foreign students in various contexts (“avalanche issuing of visas”, etc.) may lead to stigmatization of both foreign students and universities pursuing an active internationalization policy. It may also discourage other Polish universities from increasing the number of foreign students, which is absolutely not in the interest of our country.

Conclusions and recommendations

1. Wider angle
When analyzing the phenomenon of foreign students withdrawing from studies in Poland, a broader perspective should be kept. Data presented without proper context may lead to incorrect conclusions and unnecessary social panic. Comparing the situation in Poland with other European countries on the basis of several key indicators can easily lead to a cooling of the public debate.

2. Focus on real challenges
Instead of being alarmed by mystical media reports, often motivated by clickbites, it is worth focusing on the real challenges facing Polish higher education:
 a) How to improve the quality of education to reduce the drop- out rate among both Polish and foreign students?
b) How to better prepare foreign candidates for studies in Poland, taking into account cultural and educational differences?
c) How to improve the candidate verification system without closing the door to valuable students?

3. More research is needed and analyses.
 It is necessary to conduct systematic research on the fate of students who withdraw from studies. This will allow us to better understand the causes of this phenomenon and develop effective strategies to reduce it.

4. Improving the recruitment and adaptation system

Universities should focus on improving recruitment processes and adaptation programs for foreign students. This may include preparatory courses, intensive Polish language training or mentoring programs.

5. Transparent information

Both universities and state institutions should strive for greater transparency in communication regarding foreign students. Regularly publishing reliable data and analyzes can help counteract disinformation and build public trust.

Non-discriminatory policies aimed at reducing the scale of the drop-out phenomenon and as previously indicated, the drop-out phenomenon is a characteristic feature of many education systems, including Polish. However, it should not be associated with the appearance of foreign students at Polish universities. There are known policies and methods of intervention in education systems aimed at reducing the scale of this phenomenon, but they should not be identified with the negative image of a foreign student who starts studying solely for the purpose of gaining Polish visas. Instead of stigmatizing foreign students, it would be worthwhile for universities to simply take more intensive actions to limit the drop-out phenomenon in a constructive and substantive way that serves to improve the quality of teaching and not to “tighten” the borders of the Schengen countries.

Summary

Poland, aspiring to become a European educational center, must face the challenges related to the internationalization of higher education. However, this requires a reliable debate based on facts, not media speculations. The phenomenon of “drop-out” among foreign students, although it requires attention and corrective actions, should not be treated as a “scandal”, but rather as a development challenge for the Polish higher education system. Only through a comprehensive approach, taking into account both student needs and safety requirements, can Poland effectively develop as an attractive place to study for young people from all over the world.

As the Association of Polish Universities for Internationalization (APUI), we would like to take part in the discussion related to the publication of “White Paper on actions necessary to eliminate irregularities in the Polish visa system”. This document intensified the debate in the academic community about the procedures for obtaining student visas.

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In line with our position, internationalization is an opportunity not only for universities associated with APUI, but also for all Polish universities. Growing globalization, mobility of students and researchers, and the need to build international research and educational cooperation make effective internationalization efforts crucial. One of the elements necessary in the internationalization process is the visa procedure, but it is not the biggest challenge.

Data published in the “White Paper” prove that over 153,000 visas with work permits were issued in 2022. At the same time, in the same year, 23,500 visas were issued to students and PhD students – please note that this is only 13% of the visas issued. The data provided in the above-mentioned publication also show that the share of foreign students starting their studies in the first year of studies and continuing it in the next year has not fallen below 50% for many years and ranges between 53-63%, which does not differ from the situation in other OECD countries. It should be noted that the percentage of students who did not complete the studies they started in our country, according to OECD data for 2023. is 31% – regardless of whether we are talking about students coming from abroad or students from Poland. The indicator is the same for private and public universities. Lack of continuation of education results from various issues, including those as prosaic as the wrong choice of field of study, but does not necessarily mean abandoning studies to take up paid work or migrating to other Schengen countries.

The increase in the number of foreign students in Poland, and therefore the increase in the number of student visas issued, is largely due to the war in Ukraine and Poland accepting many refugees from this country. According to data from Dr. Aldona Tomczyńska from the Data Science Team in the Laboratory of Databases and Business Analytics Systems at OPI, in 2019, 39,000 people from Ukraine studied in Poland. Currently, this number has increased to over 48,000 students of Ukrainian origin, which constitutes approximately 47% of all foreign students.

Universities offer tuition waivers for refugees and scholarship programs, thus making it easier for them to study. Nevertheless, universities recruiting foreign students are not a source of illegal influx of foreigners. On the contrary, they use strict verification procedures, and in the case of APUI, we have even more advanced requirements than those postulated in the “White Paper”. Thanks to these procedures, we get to know our candidates and know that they care about development and building their future through education, and not about staying for work purposes.

We would like to emphasize that the activities of APUI and our member universities focus on promoting international education and academic exchange in accordance with the highest standards. We use a three-stage recruitment system for foreign students, including verification of certificates, checking knowledge of the language of instruction and meeting other minimum criteria.

According to the latest data provided by the Information Processing Center (OPI) and the “Study in Poland” report, in the 2022/2023 academic year the number of foreign students at Polish universities exceeded 102,000, which was an increase of approximately 16,000 people compared to the previous year. Thus, the share of foreign students among the total number of students was 8.4%. However, despite this significant increase, Poland’s 8.4% internationalization rate is below the OECD average of 8.9%, ranking only 14th compared to other countries.

We want to emphasize that internationalization brings many benefits to Polish universities, such as increased prestige, building an inclusive and diverse academic environment and the ability to fill the gap caused by the demographic decline. At the same time, it requires taking strategic actions at the national and university levels, i.e. ensuring high standards of recruitment and education, as well as providing appropriate financial resources.

Poland, as a member of the European academic community, must face the challenges related to the internationalization of higher education. This requires, on the one hand, the development of effective mechanisms for the selection and verification of foreign candidates, but also the consistent implementation of programs and initiatives promoting Poland as an attractive field of study. Only in this way will we be able to fully exploit the potential of internationalization and effectively compete with other countries on the global education market.

 Zdzisław Rapacki PhD

President of APUI

prof . Ph.D. ​Jan Fazlagić, 10/06/2024

In the official document of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland entitled ‘White Paper on Actions Necessary to Eliminate Irregularities in the Polish Visa System,’ there is a significant number of simplifications of reality and statements not supported by statistics. The document incorrectly addresses issues related to the labor market and internationalization of Polish universities en bloc in many places.

Furthermore, the document abstracts from pertinent conditions and contexts, omits international statistics and documents from international organizations, including the European Commission, regarding the internationalization of higher education. The Polish legal system has certain imperfections, but it is difficult to agree with the statement that there are ‘completely no legislative and systemic solutions.’ One could get the impression that the authors of the document, having familiarized themselves with certain pathologies and individual cases for which only a small number of Polish universities are responsible, suggest introducing new regulations that would somewhat ‘reveal’ the entire environment and real, honest candidates for studies as pathologies detected in a small percentage of Polish universities. Imperfections in the law are a permanent feature of legal systems in a rapidly changing reality, and one should not make accusations solely on this basis, but rather undertake constructive actions based on reliable information (evidence-based), which are lacking in the aforementioned document.

The document mentions the ‘pressure’ from employers and the academic community. The existence of ‘pressure’ stemming from objective needs should not be construed as an accusation against any social group. By ‘pressure,’ one should simply understand the submission of new ideas for the development of internationalization in Poland by both groups of stakeholders (employers and universities). Importantly, ideas originating from the Polish university environment usually have strong foundations in documents and reports from international organizations, higher-order regulations, and directives (including those from the EC, UNESCO, OECD) and should not be considered controversial or anti-systemic, as one might infer from the content of the White Paper. It is the role of the legislator and the government to create a system of solutions that will satisfy these needs. One should not ‘punish the messenger’ and stigmatize universities for publicizing their needs and for providing the public with facts regarding the challenges faced by Polish employers and universities.

The statement at the very beginning of the document regarding the ‘misconceived idea of internationalization of Polish universities’ is detrimental to the efforts of Polish higher education authorities to align with global trends and those set by the European Commission. The European Union strongly supports the internationalization of higher education, considering it a key element of education and research development strategy. The EU’s position on this issue focuses on several key goals. According to the European Commission, actions towards internationalization aim to strengthen the position of European universities internationally, including developing cooperation with institutions outside Europe and promoting mobility of students and academic staff. All these actions aim to create a more integrated and competitive European higher education sector, better prepared to meet global challenges.

The authors of the White Paper probably are not aware that internationalization of universities concerns not only students but also teaching programs, faculty, engagement in international research, international accreditation, and many other aspects. Furthermore, these aspects are interconnected, and the analysis should not be limited solely to the narrow issue of visas for foreign students. Research results on internationalization demonstrate many long-term positive benefits and synergies resulting from opening the higher education system to foreign students, such as the prospect of continuing an academic career for the most talented students or supplying the labor market with highly qualified specialists. There are well-known cases of businesses being founded by students, with Elon Musk being a prominent example, who studied in the United States after moving there from South Africa. According to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) report, one-fourth of American “billion-dollar companies” were founded by entrepreneurs who studied at American universities as international students. These entrepreneurs significantly contributed to economic development and job creation.

The assertion that issuing study permits ‘on request,’ detached from the priorities of Polish foreign policy and security, is an abuse. It is in the interest of the Polish economy for Polish entrepreneurs to have the opportunity to develop their businesses based on the workforce resources lacking in the Polish labor market. Every legally employed worker benefits the economy. Of course, the presence of some of these individuals carries certain risks to security, but the issue of labor migration should not be viewed in black-and-white terms.

The authors of the White Paper argue: ‘Abuse of too easy recruitment for studies’ – however, they did not specify what they mean by ‘abuse’ – if recruitment is ‘easy,’ then there is probably no need to ‘abuse’ it. This is a serious accusation against Polish universities – though formulated in an insufficiently precise manner. The authors of the White Paper did not specify which universities have ‘too easy recruitment,’ what the parameters of ‘easy recruitment’ are, and what constitutes the authors’ idea of proper, i.e., ‘not easy’ (?) recruitment. Certainly, one cannot agree with the purported cause-and-effect relationship presented in the document that a high percentage of foreign students in the general student population of a given university (first table in the White Paper (no title)) would be evidence of ‘easy recruitment.’

In the second table of the White Paper, a list of the 10 universities with the highest number of foreigners from 2022 is presented immediately after the argument about the abuse of too easy recruitment for studies. Such juxtaposition of information can be considered manipulative, as there is no evidence that a large proportion of foreign students is a result of too easy recruitment. According to the authors of the White Paper, a low percentage of foreign students among students would be evidence of difficult recruitment. Incidentally, it is worth noting that the student numbers given in the table do not exceed 6,000, while leading universities worldwide have five-figure student populations. The absolute numbers provided are surprisingly low and cannot substantiate any reasonably motivated hypothesis about the abuse of ‘too easy recruitment for studies.’ Moreover, numerical data presented in the first table of the White Paper take on an entirely different meaning when compared with data in table 1. In reference to the above, it would be worth comparing data on the number of work permits issued with the number of foreign students from a given country. With a few exceptions concerning countries from which the absolute number of students is a few hundred people (e.g., Kenya), the percentage of foreigners studying in the first year of studies in relation to the number of work permits from the same country is in many cases less than 1% (e.g., Nepal, Turkmenistan, Philippines). For India, this value is 3%, meaning that 97% of citizens of this country who had work permits in the years 2018-2023 did not study in Poland. For Bangladesh, this value is 99.2%, etc. It is therefore evident that foreign students constitute only a small part of the population of citizens of a given country residing in Poland.

Table 1. Number of work permits issued compared to the number of students from a given country 

Citizenship		2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Total
Pakistan	Number of work permits issued	1065	911	815	1526	4645	7393	8962
	1st year foreign students	52	49	61	56	99		317
India	Number of work permits issued	8362	8063	8184	15326	41640	45998	81575
	1st year foreign students	810	588	388	471	577		2834
Nepal	Number of work permits issued	19912	9175	5708	10853	20045	35287	65693
	1st year foreign students	118	35	9	8	25		195
Bangladesh	Number of work permits issued	8341	6986	3758	7524	13539	27896	40148
	1st year foreign students	91	68	52	50	69		330
Turkmenistan	Number of work permits issued	42	317	961	2648	11919	8779	15887
	1st year foreign students	23	23	15	22	21		104
Uzbekistan	Number of work permits issued	2634	6309	5873	15002	33373	27959	63191
	1st year foreign students	206	619	817	1138	1005		3785
Philippines	Number of work permits issued	2057	6317	7391	13279	22557	29154	51601
	1st year foreign students	7	12	17	6	23		65
Nigeria	Number of work permits issued	80	268	554	987	1611	1420	3500
	1st year foreign students	58	164	358	697	356		1633
Tanzania	Number of work permits issued	2	20	22	66	196	344	306
	1st year foreign students	10	15	36	36	56		153
Kenya	Number of work permits issued	20	104	186	779	2091	1727	3180
	1st year foreign students	20	43	33	50	48		194
Zimbabwe	Number of work permits issued	13	40	116	360	815	5017	1344
	1st year foreign students	210	406	561	1331	1543		4051
Rwanda	Number of work permits issued	6	22	309	686	977	1216	2000
	1st year foreign students	80	104	212	272	372		1040
Total	Number of work permits issued	42534	38532	33877	69036	153408	192190
	1st year foreign students	1685	2126	2559	4137	4194
		3.96%	5.52%	7.55%	5.99%	2.73%
2018-2022 total	Number of work permits issued			337387
	1st year foreign students			14701
				4.36%

Source: APUI study based on Central Statistical Office data: https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/edukacja/edukacja/szkolnictwo-wyzsze-i-jego-finanse-w-2022-roku,2,19.html

From Table 1, it is clear, without needing to conduct complex analyses, that the ratio of the number of students from a given country to the number of work permits issued is marginal. Exceptions are countries with a small absolute number of students, such as Tanzania (153 students vs. 306 work permits). Summarizing, the number of foreign students in Poland in the years 2018-2022 constitutes only 4.36% of the issued work permits. Contrary to the narrative promoted in the White Paper, linking visa issues for workers in Poland with student visas is unfounded, and the percentage of students among the number of work permits (700,000) is marginal (Table 1).

As shown by the data in Table 2, the percentage of residence permits issued for educational purposes in Poland is still very low compared to other European/EU countries – Poland ranked 3rd among countries with the lowest percentage of visas issued for this purpose.

Table 2. Percentage of residence permits issued for education purposes.

	Permits issued (number)	Family		Education		Employment		Other
		(number)	(% of total permits issued)	(number)	(% of total permits issued)	(number)	(% of total permits issued)	(number)	(% of total permits issued)
EU	3,454,684	896,099	25.9%	456,801	13.2%	1,241,093	35.9%	860,691	24.9%
Belgium	68,522	33,313	48.6%	9,297	13.6%	8,144	11.9%	17,768	25.9%
Bulgaria	15,839	5,345	33.7%	1,923	12.1%	4,621	29.2%	3,950	24.9%
Czechia	53,809	14,250	26.5%	10,128	18.8%	24,582	45.7%	4,839	9.0%
Denmark	40,467	11,236	27.8%	10,932	27.0%	14,801	36.6%	3,498	8.6%
Germany	538,690	188,367	35.0%	70,072	13.0%	81,795	15.2%	198,456	36.8%
Estonia	8,425	3,117	37.0%	579	6.9%	2,341	27.8%	2,388	28.3%
Ireland (1)	85,793	3,997	4.7%	41,506	48.4%	19,502	22.7%	20,788	24.2%
Greece	35,391	15,935	45.0%	893	2.5%	5,649	16.0%	12,914	36.5%
Spain	466,712	174,532	37.4%	58,418	12.5%	140,034	30.0%	93,728	20.1%
France (2)	324,200	96,598	29.8%	104,777	32.3%	54,885	16.9%	67,940	21.0%
Croatia	57,330	2,710	4.7%	328	0.6%	53,471	93.3%	821	1.4%
Italy	337,788	131,275	38.9%	25,466	7.5%	66,791	19.8%	114,256	33.8%
Cyprus	38,917	8,371	21.5%	1,956	5.0%	19,221	49.4%	9,369	24.1%
Latvia	8,790	2,203	25.1%	1,985	22.6%	3,549	40.4%	1,053	12.0%
Lithuania	31,232	2,468	7.9%	1,970	6.3%	22,346	71.5%	4,448	14.2%
Luxembourg	9,245	4,181	45.2%	633	6.8%	3,204	34.7%	1,227	13.3%
Hungary	57,286	5,485	9.6%	10,148	17.7%	35,986	62.8%	5,667	9.9%
Malta	37,851	2,693	7.1%	5,260	13.9%	27,549	72.8%	2,349	0.6%
Netherlands	137,200	45,870	33.4%	21,871	15.9%	32,123	23.4%	37,336	27.2%
Austria	55,258	17,369	31.4%	4,743	8.6%	5,437	9.8%	27,709	50.1%
Poland	700,264	19,004	2.7%	33,342	4.8%	447,225	63.9%	200,693	28.7%
Portugal	108,684	38,602	35.5%	9,712	8.9%	53,194	48.9%	7,176	6.6%
Romania	42,207	4,224	10.0%	4,851	11.5%	31,079	73.6%	2,053	4.9%
Slovenia	32,781	7,499	22.9%	2,424	7.4%	22,517	68.7%	341	1.0%
Slovakia	27,441	4,062	14.8%	3,345	12.2%	19,339	70.5%	695	2.5%
Finland	49,774	17,228	34.6%	9,314	18.7%	17,616	35.4%	5,616	11.3%
Sweden	84,788	36,165	42.7%	10,928	12.9%	24,082	28.4%	13,613	16.1%
Iceland	3,394	931	27.4%	585	17.2%	599	17.6%	1,279	37.7%
Lichtenstein	902	688	76.3%	22	2.4%	124	13.7%	68	7.5%
Norway	28,145	11,817	42.0%	5,232	18.6%	6,024	21.4%	5,072	18.0%
Switzerland	49,257	20,258	41.1%	12,981	26.4%	13,273	26.9%	2,745	5.6%
(1) unreliable data
(2) provisional data except for family reason

Source: Eurostat

It is also worth making comparisons (benchmarking) with other countries and universities, especially in the “Old Union.” Do the authors of the White Paper believe that recruitment in those countries is (sufficiently) “difficult”? Instead of using journalistic arguments, it would be better for the Ministry to issue specific recommendations for Polish universities on how, in its view, recruitment should be conducted to invalidate the Ministry’s accusation. The arguments presented at the end of the White Paper seem unconvincing and fraught with many question marks.

The percentage of foreign students can and should be considered in a much broader context than as evidence of allegedly low recruitment criteria. Attracting a foreign student requires universities to have high marketing competencies, knowledge of educational markets, preparation of staff for marketing activities outside Poland, etc. Not all Polish universities have such competencies, so the low internationalization rate of the student population in other Polish universities could equally be used as evidence of low competencies in the field of internationalization. Polish universities compete with dozens of other universities in the region and beyond in international markets. To provide a reliable picture of the situation, analogous statistics should be presented for the most internationalized universities in Europe, such as in Germany, France, the Netherlands, or Italy, and then such comparisons should be made.

It is worth noting that the list also includes four public universities with long traditions, namely universities from Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznań. How should their position in this ranking be interpreted against the background of other universities? To summarize, the statistical data presented in the first two tables of the White Paper do little to contribute to an objective understanding of the undoubtedly necessary debate on the internationalization of Polish higher education. These data completely abstract from international statistics – the recipient of this document does not know how to interpret the data – the only interpretation is the one imposed by the Ministry in the document – this interpretation is not reliable. Table 3 presents the number of students studying in other EU countries, and these numbers are much higher than for Poland.

Table 3. Number of foreign students in selected European countries

Country	Number of foreign students	Source
Germany	458,210	https://www.mavenconsultingservices.com/article/top-10-european-countries-for-international-students-where-should-you-study/
France	412,000	https://www.studies-overseas.com/news/france-welcomes-412000-international-students
Spain	224,080	https://monitor.icef.com/2024/02/new-policies-erasmus-and-booming-tourism-boost-spains-international-education-sector/
Netherlands	123,000	https://longreads.cbs.nl/the-netherlands-in-numbers-2023/where-do-international-students-in-the-netherlands-come-from/#:~:text=Nearly%20123%20thousand% 20international%20students,vocational%20college%20(HBO)%20students.&text=University%20and%20vocational%20college%20students,a%20bachelor’s%20or%20master’s%20degree.
Italy	109,681	https://erudera.com/statistics/italy/italy-international-student-statistics/

In the further part of the White Paper, it is stated that the Polish visa is “easily accessible and relatively cheap.” Since detailed statistics on the number of students in Polish universities are presented, it would be worthwhile to also present this thesis in the form of a table/ranking of the “cheapest visas” and show what the position (price) of the Polish visa is compared to other countries to prove the thesis that one of the reasons why Poland is an attractive country for immigrants is the low price of the visa compared to other countries.

The existence of alleged “dishonest intermediaries” is an abuse because:

1. The operation of intermediaries in obtaining a visa is a widespread practice in many countries around the world and has its justification in terms of the economics of the functioning of the diplomatic service;
2. Having the status of an intermediary should not automatically stigmatize every intermediary as dishonest. The concept of “intermediary” should be separated from “dishonest intermediary.” Honest intermediaries act in favor of our country because they help reduce transaction costs between the applicant and the Polish state. The alternative would be to maintain additional highly paid officials delegated from Poland in Polish foreign missions, subsidize their stay with their families, business trips, and even that would not guarantee the complete elimination of corruption. The White Paper states about the “selective satisfaction of demands for speeding up the visa procedure.” However, it does not specify what types of visas these corruption phenomena concerned. Did they concern student visas or work visas? The issuance of a student visa takes place at the consulate level, and the university is not involved in this process in any way. All decisions to grant or not grant a student visa are made by the Polish diplomatic service without consulting the host university. Therefore, it is an abuse to suggest that universities are involved in the visa issuance process, let alone suggest that universities could be involved in corrupt processes when issuing student visas. Since this polemic mainly concerns aspects related to the internationalization of universities, and the Ministry’s document concerns both the labor market and the internationalization of universities, the analysis of potential corruption phenomena should be separated and indicate whether they also concerned the issuance of student visas – it can be assumed that this phenomenon did not concern student visas, especially since the earlier statements of the White Paper mention “too easy recruitment for studies in Poland.” Since recruitment was “too easy” (as can be assumed at the level of specific universities), there was probably no need for applicants to use corrupt methods (at the diplomatic service level). This, in turn, leads to the suggestion to the Ministry to clearly indicate that corruption in issuing visas did not concern student visas or, if the Ministry has evidence of this, to specifically indicate which universities accepted students who used corrupt methods to obtain a student visa in Poland.

At the end of the White Paper, nine recommendations of measures are listed – the first four refer strictly to the labor market, and the remaining five concern higher education:

• Ad. Conducting mandatory pre-selection of foreign students – such a requirement strikes at the autonomy of higher education institutions, which is one of the foundations of the education system in Poland. In Poland, there are several hundred universities with extremely diverse profiles, local conditions, and histories. These universities have different development strategies, conduct research in various scientific disciplines. This, in turn, implies the need to adapt the functioning conditions of these universities to local requirements. Recruitment criteria are usually set by the Senate of a given university, and depriving senators of these powers can be seen as a violation of the autonomy of higher education institutions in Poland.
• Ad. Not using minimal recruitment criteria – the likely source of this recommendation is the detection of pathologies in the recruitment of students for studies in Poland by a few universities. Collective responsibility should not be applied but consequences should be drawn against specific universities and individuals responsible for the occurrence of pathological phenomena. The vast majority of universities in Poland use reliable recruitment criteria. If the Ministry’s recommendations are implemented, many new problems will arise regarding what exactly these criteria should be, given the diverse profiles of various universities. Should a medical university apply the same criteria as a small higher education institution in a former provincial city teaching sociology or physiotherapy? Centralization of solutions regarding education always entails many new problems because education is an area of the economy that requires a particularly large degree of autonomy.
• Ad. Increased administrative costs of universities should be reflected in increased tuition fees – in Poland, there is a belief that studies in our country are significantly cheaper than in the countries of the so-called “Old Union,” which is not true. In countries with significantly higher per capita income (e.g., the Netherlands), which is also reflected in university personnel costs, tuition fees for one year of study amount to about 3000-4000 €, which is only slightly lower than for comparable studies at good Polish universities. The ongoing economic growth in our country also leads to the equalization of differences in wages between the “Old” and “New Union.” To summarize, the argument that Polish studies are significantly cheaper than in other countries is becoming less and less relevant year by year. Perpetuating the myth of cheap studies in Poland does not serve to build the reputation of our country as a place to study because we should emphasize the quality of our education system, not only operate with the criterion of tuition fees in the debate on the internationalization of higher education. Table 4 presents examples of tuition fees from European higher education institutions.

Table 4. Examples of tuition fees from European universities.

School	Average tuition fee per year of study (Euro)	Number of foreign students at the university	Source
KU Leuven (Belgium)	2,505	14457	https://feb.kuleuven.be/eng/prospective-students/bachelor-of-business-engineering/overview
Autonomous University of Barcelona ( Spain )	3000-4500	10000	https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/ehea-degrees/general-information/bioinformatics-uab/upc/ub/upf-1216708259085.html?param1=1345910563150
University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)	2530-4000	13800	https://www.uva.nl/en/education/fees-and-funding/tuition-fees/tuition-fees.html?cb
Heidelberg University (Germany)	3000	5546	https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/en/study/management-of-studies/semester-fees/tuition-fees-for-international-students
Technical University of Munich ( Germany )	0-4000	23422	https://www.tum.de/en/studies/fees/tuition

• Ad. Centralized Pre-selection System for Foreign Candidates – It is not true that in Germany (DAAD) there is an operator of a centralized system for the pre-selection of foreign candidates for studies. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) only performs certain specific verification tasks, such as checking the authenticity of diplomas, but it does not control the language competencies of students. This responsibility lies with the German universities. In the United Kingdom, there is a certain centralized system, but ultimately each university is responsible for setting its own recruitment criteria.
• Ad. Consideration of Restricting Access of Foreign Students to the Polish Labor Market – This is a justified recommendation, however, the current legal system addresses this need. It should be noted that the activity of students at the university and their student status is checked by the Voivodeship Office during the procedure for issuing a residence card. A student who drops out of studies loses the right to work. In many European countries, foreign students can legally work up to 20 hours a week, which is a compromise between regulating labor market access and meeting the needs of employers and students. In the case of Poland, a potential compromise in this area could primarily concern students studying at the first degree (Bachelor’s) level and should be developed in consultation with employers. However, introducing a deposit system, where a student is required to have an account with a blocked minimum amount of required funds, is a concept fraught with many negative consequences. Firstly, this amount would have to be somehow related to the income level in the country of origin. If this amount were uniform for all students, it would be a form of discrimination, as students, particularly from countries of the former Soviet Union, could face an insurmountable financial barrier. The European Commission’s plans to expand the EU to new countries would be in direct conflict with this deposit system, as it would financially discriminate against students from countries seeking accession.

In conclusion, this document provides a comprehensive response to the theses and suggestions contained in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ White Paper. Many of these theses are based on journalistic arguments that are not confirmed by facts and figures. Ensuring the security of the state and the rule of law in the area of higher education is also in the interest of the vast majority of Polish universities and it is unjustified to present them as agents of negative processes. On the contrary, Polish universities are concerned with maintaining the highest standards in the internationalization of higher education in Poland. The development of new solutions and innovations should take place within the framework of a substantive debate based on facts and evidence.

About the author:

Prof. Dr. hab. Jan Fazlagić from the University of Economics in Poznań specializes in intellectual capital issues, knowledge management, education internationalization, and local government management. He is a member of the Steering Committee that developed the assumptions for the new Higher Education Law (Law 2.0) at the Allerhand Institute. He is the Vice-President of the Association for the Internationalization of Polish Universities (APUI) and an expert of the European Commission (Lead Expert in the URBACT III program of the European Commission).

He authored the first doctoral dissertation (2001) and the first habilitation thesis in Poland on knowledge management in the service sector. He also authored the first report on the intellectual capital of universities in Poland (2004). He has extensive experience in implementing numerous European projects in the field of education and intellectual capital development. He is a member of the Think Tank at the President of the City of Poznań. He is the author of over 300 scientific and popular science publications, including 15 books, such as “The Handbook of the Innovative Local Government Official,” recognized as one of the best books of 2018.

About APUI:

APUI stands for the Association of Polish Universities for Internationalization. It is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 to support the internationalization process of Polish higher education institutions. APUI acts as a representative body bringing together Polish universities and facilitating their international cooperation and attracting foreign students. The key goals of APUI are to promote Polish universities on the international stage, increase student and academic staff mobility, and develop programs taught in foreign languages, particularly English.