The Parliamentary Committee on Education has identified serious building problems, overcrowding, and shortages of school facilities during its tour of schools in the Paphos district. The Committee Chair, DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides, spoke of a particularly dire situation in the district, citing the need for immediate planning and upgrading of school infrastructure.
The Parliamentary Committee on Education is visiting today, Friday, October 2, is visiting schools in the Paphos district to assess firsthand the problems and needs faced by students and teachers.
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Speaking to Tsada, Mr. Savvides noted that the Committee is once again observing the serious problem regarding school facilities.
As he said, the Paphos district is in a particularly difficult position, since, according to the data available to the Committee, all schools are overcrowded, while the average number of students is significantly higher than in other districts.
She made special mention of the situation at the Tsadas Elementary School, highlighting the serious problems facing the kindergarten.
“The kindergarten has enormous problems, and the most tragic thing is that it is built on land that belongs to the cemetery. If that is even possible, how many mistakes have been made in the past?” he said.
The Committee Chair stated that pressure will be exerted to upgrade the school facilities, while he strongly emphasized the need to build new schools in the Paphos district.
“We will push for the upgrading of school facilities. We are calling for new schools, particularly in the Paphos district,” he noted.
At the same time, he expressed hope that the Ministry of Education’s plans for the Nikolaideio Junior High School and the 7th Elementary School will be implemented. As he stated, the Committee expects the Minister of Education to honor her commitment and move forward with the issue of the Nikolaideio Junior High School in November so that the project can become a reality.
Mr. Savvidis also addressed the problem of overcrowding in several schools, describing a situation in which students are “crammed” into classrooms, while in some cases classrooms are shared to ensure there is space for instruction.
“The number of students is rising, but the buildings aren’t keeping up,” he said, warning that without planning for future needs, the situation will worsen.
“If we don’t plan for the coming years, we’ll go back to the old days when we held classes under the trees. That’s where we’ll end up, and that saddens me deeply,” he said.
For his part, Tsadas, the community leader, president of the Ezousa Cluster, and president of the School Board, Marios Ioannou, noted that the elementary school needs renovation and expansion, with the biggest problem lying in the kindergarten.
As he said, there is an urgent need to relocate the kindergarten to a new building, a project expected to be carried out by the government. According to Mr. Ioannou, the relocation will also allow the existing space to be utilized to meet the needs of the elementary school.
“It is imperative that the kindergarten be relocated and adapted to today’s realities, with the modern facilities that both the children and the teachers need to function,” he said.
It was noted that the Parliamentary Committee on Education is conducting a series of visits today to schools in the Paphos district.
The tour began at 9:00 a.m. at the Tsadas Elementary School, where the delegation met with the administration and teachers, followed by visits to the Agios Charalambos High School and Technical School, as well as the Theoskepasti Junior High School.
The aim of the tour is to document the problems and needs of the schools, as well as to discuss issues related to school education with teachers and administrators.
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Source: CNA
