Szymon Hołownia, Speaker of Poland’s parliament and presidential candidate for Poland 2050, the centrist party he leads, has been accused of seeking a masters degree in psychology, without attending any classes.
Hołownia has denied he was a student at Collegium Humanum, a private university that is being investigated for issuing fake diplomas in return for cash and favours.
On November 27 Newsweek reported that Hołownia had been registered at the college without studying there. Hołownia on November 28 denied this claim, asserting in a statement made in parliament that although he had applied for admission, he did not begin the course nor pay for it and suggested the article was an attempt to disrupt his presidential campaign.
Newsweek journalist Renata Kim claimed several people said they had seen Hołownia’s name in the students’ register and that the head of the college, who was arrested and released on bail as part of the investigation, stated that he was a student at the institution.
Collegium Humanum has been under investigation by the anti-corruption agency (CBA) since February for alleged irregularities. The investigators claimed they have uncovered the issuing of diplomas in exchange for bribes and favours.
The investigation has led to 30 arrests so far, including high-profile figures such as former opposition Conservative (PiS) MEPs Ryszard Czarnecki and Karol Karski as well as Wrocław Mayor Jacek Sutryk. Czarnecki was charged with allegedly offering protection in exchange for a diploma for his wife whereas Sutryk was indicted for allegedly paying a bribe with the use of public funds to obtain an MBA degree.
The Speaker of Parliament has portrayed himself as a victim with regard to the Collegium Humanum scandal. “I thought it would be a place to study and complete my education normally, but it turned out that the institution has a questionable reputation,” he said.
Hołownia also expressed concerns over potentially deliberate leaking of allegedly false information about him by the state’s security and justice apparatus, adding that should this be the case “it would put a huge strain on relations within the coalition”.
Poland 2050, together with its partner the Polish People’s Party (PSL), makes up the Third Way Alliance – partners of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) in the current centre-left coalition government.
Hołownia is also a candidate in Poland’s presidential elections due in the spring of 2025, currently polling around 10 per cent.
Tusk and his interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak have denied any involvement by state officials in the publication of the alleged revelations and went on the record on November 28 as saying they had full confidence in Hołownia. They stated that they accepted his explanation that he never studied at nor received any diploma from the college.
However, Newsweek’s Kim insisted on November 28 that Hołownia had “confirmed” her story by saying that he never studied or paid for the course . That was because, according to her story, it was alleged by people working at Collegium Humanum that his non-attendance and fee-waiver were part of his “deal” with the college.
Kim did, though, emphasise that she was not alleging he had received a diploma from the college.
Also on November 28, Liberal freelance commentator Jakub Bierzyński alleged on social media that Hołownia was awarded the diploma by Collegium Humanum He claimed entries in the Socrates system used for managing student progress in higher education showed the Speaker’s account was active with information on his progress. Bierzyński did admit that there was no evidence of Hołownia ever having actually collected a diploma.
In a connected development, Krzysztof Bosak, the deputy speaker of parliament and member of the opposition Confederation party, who in the spring of this year had denied taking up studies at the college, on November 29 admitted he had attended at least one semester’s worth of studies at Collegium Humanum but said he did not complete the course nor receive a diploma.
