Regarding problematic prefabricated classrooms at the 3rd Elementary School of Ypsona, overcrowding, and safety concerns, members of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, parent groups, and POED have spoken out in their statements.
The Education Committee visited schools in the Limassol District on Friday. The first stop was the Ypsona C Elementary School and Kindergarten, where Committee members attended a meeting in the presence of the Mayor of Kourion, Pantelis Georgiou, and the second stop was at schools in Omodos.
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The Chairman of the House Education Committee, DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides, stated after the meeting that the school has 13 permanent classrooms and 10 prefabricated ones, noting that half of the school, although new, consists of prefabricated classrooms, while the kindergarten has 2 permanent classrooms and another 4 prefabricated ones.
He also noted that it rained the day before yesterday and water was leaking into the classroom, and the students had to be moved to another classroom because there was a risk of electric shock.
The President of the Parents’ Association of the 3rd Elementary School of Ypsona, Konstantinos Kareklas, said in a statement that the situation with overcrowding and safety issues can’t go on any longer. He added that 456 children attend the school, meaning its enrollment rate has reached 130%, and he also mentioned an increased risk of accidents.
POED President Myria Vassiliou stated that this is yet another case of a school designed for fewer students that is severely overcrowded, noting that it is a school where all extracurricular activities have been canceled.
Mr. Savvidis, in his remarks following the Committee members’ visit to the 3rd Elementary School of Ypsona as well as the kindergarten, spoke of a shortage of school facilities in an areathat is constantly growing.
He said that planning must be long-term and wondered what would happen in the coming years. “Are we going to fill all the spaces with prefab classrooms and think we’ve solved the problem? Of course not,” he added.
He went on to say that some of the prefabricated classrooms are problematic. He referred to the risk of electric shock due to rainwater, adding that this is not the sole responsibility of the current government, but rather a long-standing problem. “There is no vision. These things should have been planned many decades ago, and this problem will only get worse, especially in preschool, now that we’ve lowered the age for school enrollment to 4 years old,”, he added.
“Therefore,” Mr. Savvidis continued, the number of students will increase every year, “we won’t have enough schools, we won’t have enough classrooms, and we’ll constantly be cramming our schools into makeshift structures”.
He also said that today they asked the Technical Services to provide an immediate solution to the issues of waterproofing the prefab classrooms, the air conditioning, and the playground. “They built a playground, but the children can’t use it,” he said, calling for solutions.
He also addressed the issue of understaffing in the Technical Services department.
Responding to a question about the visit to Omodos, Mr. Savvidis said that “we’re not just thinking about urban schools; we’re also thinking about schools in the provinces and rural areas, where we need to be even more demanding since we say we want to keep young people” in those regions.”
“We’ll go to Omodos to take a look, document the problems, and press the Ministry of Education to provide solutions,” he added.
When asked whether, in addition to infrastructure, they would also address other issues, Mr. Savvides said that there are no staffing shortages at the 3rd Elementary School of Ypsonas.
As he noted, there are schools—such as the Polis Chrysochous Junior High School and the Chlorakas Elementary School—that do not have a speech therapist.
“As you can see, almost a month has passed since the start of the school year. So, our role is to push for action so that we can achieve our goals,” he noted.
The President of the Parents’ Association of the 3rd Elementary School of Ypsona, Konstantinos Kareklas, referred in his remarks to the Education Committee’s initiative to visit the school and said that as members of the Parents’ Association of the 3rd Elementary School, as well as members of the ad hoc Coordinating Committee of the Parents’ Associations of seven schools in Ypsona and the Municipality of Kourion, they reiterated the issues they have been raising for the past three years.
“The procedures are so slow, the central government, unfortunately, seems incapable and, in many cases, non-existent when it comes to immediately resolving serious problems, and we call on it once again to take immediate action for our region, because the situation with overpopulation and security issues can’t go on any longer,” he noted.
When asked if the children are aware of the problem, Mr. Kareklas said that the children notice it during recess, especially when it rains. He cited the figure of 456 children, with the school’s occupancy rate at 130%. “So, as you can imagine, we have accidents every day,” with the risk being heightened.
POED President Myria Vassiliou stated that, unfortunately, once again it has been confirmed that there is a lack of vision. In education, “those who assume positions of authority must have a vision that will help ensure we no longer hear about or witness these problems,” she said.
“This is yet another case of a school that was designed for fewer students and is now severely overcrowded. It’s a school where all the labs have been shut down. So, one wonders how classes are conducted,” she added.
So, Ms. Vassiliou continued, the government, bearing in mind that action needs to be taken and without painting a “rosy picture,” must put proper planning in place, and “if resources need to be found, they must be found.”
“Resources must be found, because all of this raises very serious safety concerns” for children, teachers, and staff, she added. “The government must finally roll up its sleeves and start thinking about how to fix things and provide substantive support for our public schools,” he concluded.
Source: CNA
