The issue of childcare before the start and after the end of school remains unresolved, following the President of the Republic’s referral back of the legislation approved by the House of Representatives.
In remarks made at the Konstantinoupolis Elementary School, when asked to comment on the issue, the President of the Republic stated that “That is why I mentioned this earlier in relation to optional full-day schools. That is why we are introducing 63 new ones this year; that is why there is a steady increase; and that is why our goal is for all elementary schools to be optional all-day schools by 2028. “Because I fully understand the point you’ve raised and the concerns of parents.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Speaking on the Alpha Kalimera program, Yiannos Ioannou, President of the Pancyprian Confederation of Primary School Parents, noted that despite the referral, the issue is not over, as consultations with the Ministry are continuing.
“We have submitted proposals. There are solutions. There are solutions because the time frame isn’t very long. And there aren’t that many children to note this. In other words, very few children will go to school at 7:00 or 7:15 a.m., because parents have to go to work.”
He added that the time frame isn’t so long that it can’t be covered by school staff.
“And I’m not talking about the teachers. Let me make that clear. Because when it comes to teachers, we need to work that out with the Ministry. I’m talking about the support staff at the schools. They could receive an extra paycheck so that the need can be met.”
In response to the host’s remark that one solution would be for schools to take turns designating a teacher to arrive at school earlier, Mr. Ioannou noted that “I think you’ve put it in the right perspective. That is, each school should assess its own situation.”
At the same time, he emphasized that we shouldn’t wait for something bad to happen before playing the blame game.
“The Ministry or the school administration could easily announce today that one teacher will work from 7:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. instead of 7:00 a.m. to 1:10 p.m., and another from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This would fill the gap, which isn’t that big. It’s one of the problems we’re discussing.”
