Aleksandra Twarog is the first municipal ombudsman for student rights in Krakow. The 19-year-old activist defeated her competitors, although she wrote the worst test of the competition. Previously, he supported the current president of Krakow, Oleksandr Miszalski, during the campaign and was also his assistant. The city authorities defend the young official by showing the results of all stages of the competition. They show that Tvarog got the highest score. – This competition could have been corrected – says PiS MP Lukash Kmita.
On January 13, the student rights ombudsman started working in the city hall of Krakow. This is a completely new position, the creation of which was announced by the mayor of the city Alexander Misalsky (KO) in the election program. This position was taken by 19-year-old Alexandra Tvarog, an activist associated with the GrowSPACE foundation.
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Aleksandra Twarog Krakow City Hall
Storm around student rights ombudsman in Krakow
Tvarog was one of eight candidates who signed up for competitive testing. According to PiS parliamentarian Lukash Kmita and representatives of local assemblies of this party, the newly appointed official should not take this position, because he got the worst result in the test of competition among eight candidates.
The list published by the MP shows that Alexandra Tvarog answered only 20 out of 25 questions correctly, thus she got 80% points. This is actually the lowest of all those who took the test – one candidate scored 96 percent, three scored 88 percent, two scored 84 percent, and one other than the new speaker scored 80 percent.
The results of the test for the mayor’s spokesperson for student rights at Krakowiex.com/Lukasz_Kmita
In the announcement of the office on the appointment of Alexandra Tvarog, it was written: “according to all the established criteria, she obtained the best result in the test of general and special knowledge necessary for the given position, interview and analysis of documents.”
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“The race could be rigged”
At the press conference, Deputy Committee noted that Alexandra Tvarog answered only two of the four questions of the competition based on the so-called Kamilek Act, i.e. amendments to the Family and Guardianship Code.
– This is a political issue. In this way, President Miszalsky pays the political debt to some circles that supported him, said the PiS deputy. – In my opinion, it was possible to fix this competition, – he added.
The MP announced in an interview with tvn24.pl that PiS politicians “will send documents to the prosecutor’s office for legal analysis to determine whether there are any violations in the procedure for appointing the student ombudsman.”
He worked in Miszalski
Aleksandra Twarog graduated from Secondary School No. 21 in Krakow and is currently studying criminology and forensics at the Andrzej Fricz Modrzewski University. As a high school student, he was a spokesperson for the rights of school students and the head of the city’s youth council. Currently, he is the coordinator of the development of Lesser Poland at the GrowSPACE Foundation.
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The biography of the activist is complemented by the fact that when Alexander Miszalski was still a member of parliament, Alexandra Tvarog served as his social assistant. He often posted photos of himself with a politician on social networks – for example, from future Poland.
Mayor of Krakow Alexander Miszalski PAP/Lukas Gagulski
Unfulfilled promises in the elections
According to Lukasz Kmita, it is also important that Tvarog spent a year trying to create a position in this office, and he finally got it. In February, the activist stood next to Oleksandr Miszalski, then a candidate for mayor of Krakow, at a press conference during which the politician announced a demand for the appointment of a city ombudsman for student rights.
Miszalsky then promised that “teachers and specialists” will be included in the competition commission, in addition to officials, and the selection should be made “in consultation with the students themselves”. It ended with only officials sitting on the committee.
– Such a person should have legal education or long experience and knowledge in the field of education. It could be someone who works in the office of education, or it could be a school principal, Miszalski said. Alexandra Tvarog does not have legal education and legal education, and due to her age, she does not have much experience.
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February 28, 2024. Aleksandra Tvarog on the left, Alexander Miszalski in the middle, Gabriela Gladyszewska of the GrowSPACEfb.com/aleksander.miszalski Foundation on the right
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However, in an interview with tvn24.pl, Aleksandra Tvarog assures that she is ready to fulfill her duties. – Thanks to the competition test, I know what to improve and learn. I’m working on it, Tvarog told us.
When he was asked about his relationship with President Miszalski, the ombudsman of students’ rights in Krakow answered that when he offered this position as a member of the city’s youth council (for the 10th term on the threshold of 2022 and 2023) , he didn’t know. Alexander Miszalsky.
– This was not an idea that appeared during the campaign. As for my acquaintance with the president, I believe it had no effect. The competition was open, 24 people participated in it. Anyone can apply if they meet the basic criteria. The commission was completely unknown to me. I knew the vice-president (Maria Klaman, who sat on the committee – ed.), I met with her as a representative of GrowSPACE, but I am not friends with her, – said Tvarog.
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During the interview, the commission asked the candidates, including: about their previous activities. – There were also questions about errors in the School Charter, students’ rights and the speaker’s position. I will also hear about my experiences in projects including: LGBT+, presence of psychologists in schools, suicide prevention – we will hear from Aleksandra Tvarog.
The city authorities support the young official by showing the points table. This shows that Alexandra Tvarog got the highest result of all the candidates that were finally considered. She made up for her poor test results with a job interview where she fared far behind her competitors. He scored the highest in every criterion. Each was judged more harshly than the others – although her rivals included: a student recommended for the post by former child rights ombudsman Marek Michalak, a committed youth activist.
“Other candidates had no chance”
And one of Alexandra Tvarog’s competitors tells us directly: “the competition seemed rigged.”
– The youth community is buzzing with the information that all other candidates did not have a chance. This is very unfair. The test was minor. For example, we were asked if there are local government nurseries in Krakow. On Thursday, the day after the test, we were informed that we had to have a job interview the next morning. I had to change my plans and cancel the train, – says one of the candidates in the competition for the student rights ombudsman in Krakow.
– I answered all the questions completely, the committee members even had to interrupt my answers to move on to the next question. I presented my certificates and recommendations to the committee. And now it turned out that I scored much less than Ms. Tvarog. I don’t understand this, – our interlocutor, a well-known student rights activist, does not hide his pain.
We asked the spokesperson of the mayor of Kraków whether the acquaintance of Aleksandra Tvarog with Aleksandr Misalski was important in his appointment to this position. Ioanna Kzeminska did not answer this question directly, but she told about the basis on which the commission worked.
Decision based on “comprehensive picture of competences”
“The test score, although important, was not the only evaluation criterion. The main stage of recruitment was the interview, during which a committee of three evaluated not only knowledge, but also practical skills, interpersonal skills and willingness. Student Ombudsman,” wrote Joanna Krzeminska to us.
The president’s representative informed us that “during the conversation, Mrs. Alexandra Twarog showed extensive knowledge of topics related to the protection of students’ rights, problems in the regulations of the charter of educational institutions in Krakow, professional skills and communication skills that are important at work. in this position”. He also emphasized that “the committee highly appreciated her speech and the answers to the questions she asked. After a detailed analysis of all the recruitment elements, the committee came to the conclusion that Ms. Tvarog is more suitable to the requirements of the Ombudsman for students and school dialogue.”
In the response of President Miszalski’s spokesperson, we also read that “the selection decision is based on the general picture of the candidates’ competence, and not only on one of the recruitment stages.”
The administration’s explanation convinced the local opposition. – I deeply believe in the good intentions of Ms. Tvarog, but I don’t know if she will be the right defender of students’ rights or not? But the most important thing is what signal we send to other young people who ran for this position. We give them an example that political order is more important than competence – explains Eliza Dydynska-Czesak, Krakow’s resident advisor, member of the education committee of the city council, in an interview with tvn24.pl.
This is not the first time that there have been controversies in Krakow regarding the appointment of politicians associated with the Civil Alliance to public positions. Recently, there has been a lot of noise in this region about Andrzej Hourank, the former consultant of the PO, who was appointed the head of the Malopolska sanitary and epidemiological station, despite the fact that he lost the competition.
Main photo source: Krakow City Hall, PAP/Łukasz Gągulski
