SLD if elected would postpone introduction of new matura exam until 2003

The Left Democratic Alliance (SLD) has announced that if the party were to have any influence on the formation of the next government after parliament elections, it would postpone until 2003 the introduction of the new matura, the state-administered secondary school certificate exam. Currently the Education Ministry has plans to launch the new version of the exam next year. Speaking at a press conference Krystyna Lybacka, whom insiders tip to become the Education Minister if the SLD were to win the election, proposed that schools where students felt well-prepared for the new form of the exam could take it in 2002, as an experiment. She said that teachers together with the students and their parents should make that decision. In a report to deputies yesterday, current Education Minister Edmund Wittbrodt said there was no reason for changing the date for introduction of the new matura. (Rzeczpospolita, A1) A.D.