Students and teachers welcomed President of the Republic Nicos Christodoulides with a song at Agios Dometios Junior High School.
The President, accompanied by Minister of Education Athina Michaelidou, listened to the song and then greeted the students.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Subsequently, in remarks to reporters and when asked to share his message for the day, the President of the Republic said, “Today is dedicated to our schools. I am here. Next, I will visit an elementary school and then the new School for the Deaf.
I am here to speak with the children, but also to send a clear message as a nation that education—and I’ve said this many times, I’m not saying this today just because it’s the start of the school year—is our highest priority, because it affects all areas of governance across the board.
That is why we are committed to an ongoing policy of reform in the field of education. A reform agenda that affects everyone, starting with teachers—through the appointment system, performance evaluations, professional development, and the students—by continually updating the curricula to make them more targeted and placing greater emphasis on skills, at the same time, we are investing over 132 million euros in school facilities, and I am here to speak with the children as well.
For us, education in practice—not just in words—is the most important area of governance, because it has a cross-cutting impact on all policy sectors and, at the same time, represents the future of our country.”
When asked to comment on students’ reactions to the high temperatures in classrooms and the issue of air conditioning, the President of the Republic said that “The children who are reacting are right, and that is why, from the very moment we assumed leadership of the country, and I invite anyone to compare the data we received in 2023 with the data we have today.
Read also: Christodoulides: “The children who are protesting about the air conditioners are right”
In some districts, the installation of air conditioners in schools has been completed, and in some other districts we’re nearing completion, in collaboration with the School Boards, and the Nicosia School Board is doing an excellent job in this area.
I have promised that by the end of this term, we will have air conditioning installed in all schools—in all elementary schools across Cyprus.
At the same time, we’ll see—I’ll ask the children to tell me what’s going on here. That’s why I’m here myself.
At the same time, there is another important aspect I want to mention, because it touches on many other areas as well. It is the expansion of progressive full-day schools. This year we’re starting with another 60. We have over 350 in Cyprus. Our goal is for all our elementary schools to be all-day, optional schools. So, we are constantly investing in education, and anyone can see this very clearly by looking at the state budget.”
When asked to share a message with first-graders today, the President of the Republic said, “The message is that, especially for first-graders, a new journey is beginning. New paths are opening up before them. I will encourage them to make the most of this opportunity, and more than anything, I am here to listen to the children. We are in a new phase of educational reform. We are also transforming education through ongoing reforms—at the level of teachers, curricula, our students, and school facilities—and I want to discuss these matters with them.”
In response to a journalist’s remark that the government had deferred legislation regarding the supervision of children at the start and end of the school day—and that, consequently, there is no one to supervise the children— the President of the Republic stated that “that is why I mentioned this earlier in relation to optional all-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 full-day schools by 2028. Because I fully understand the point you’ve raised and the concerns of parents.”
He then addressed the students, he emphasized that he chose to visit a school on the outskirts of Nicosia partly because it is a multicultural school, with children from 17 countries, describing this as an advantage.
