A month and a half after the start of the new school year, the chaos in the schools shows no sign of ending. The culmination of all this is the closure of the optional full-day elementary school in Tochni due to a shortage of staff.
“On Friday afternoon, we found out that our teacher had been transferred, and on Monday morning, without any warning, at 12 p.m., a message was sent saying that you had to pick up the children at 2 p.m. because there was no teacher for the all-day program.” Thalia Antoniou, President of the Tochni Elementary School Parents’ Association
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Staffing shortages in all-day schools aren’t limited to Tochni.
“All all-day schools are understaffed. In some schools, instead of having two teachers, there is only one; in a school that should have five teachers, there are only three. This is a Cyprus-wide issue.” Yiannos Ioannou, President of the Pan-Cyprian Confederation of Parents of Elementary School Students
On behalf of the Ministry of Education, Maria Hatzipieri, Inspector of Elementary Education, attempted to provide an explanation.
“A new morning position became available—a standard 29-month contract—and the young woman applied for it through the committee; she was eligible and got it, so she got something better, and the committee re-advertised her position on the very same day.” Maria Hatzipieri, Inspector of Elementary Education
Positions at all-day schools can also be filled by kindergarten teachers, resulting in appointments and creating vacancies.
“For every offer of appointment to an all-day school that has been made, an equal number of classes have been closed in private and community kindergartens.” Fanos Kouroufexis, Senior Benefits Management Officer
Unacceptable Conditions
What was revealed yesterday to the Parliament’s Audit Committee regarding prefabricated classrooms in schools is absurd and unheard of, an issue on which the Audit Office recently issued a report.
“They took a classroom and installed it upside down at a school. Instead of placing it so it faced the hallway, they put it the wrong way around… and then had to rush to get a crane to turn it so it would face the hallway.” Chrysanthos Savvides, DIKO Member of Parliament
A major problem with this situation is the fact that schools are not required to obtain a zoning permit for prefabricated structures, resulting in classrooms being placed “anywhere.”
“They put up a classroom in Paphos right next to the border, and the residents of the area can’t open their windows because the students will see them, so if someone comes out of the bathroom, the students next door will see them.” Chrysanthos Savvides, DIKO Member of Parliament
The situation is tragicomic; however, as was mentioned yesterday in the committee, other serious safety issues are arising for students and teachers, since only 113 schools hold fire safety certificates.
Watch Eleni Michael’s report
