The absences of teachers are being dealt with and made up for and in the last two days no children have been left without education, either through substitutions or through various other procedures, Minister of Education Prodromos Prodromou said, speaking after the Parliamentary Committee on Education was briefed on the issue.
Noting that there is a lot of pressure in schools due to the pandemic, he said that when they talk about substitutions, they mean the procedure followed by the Education Service Commission which is established by special regulations. When we hear, he said, that 100 teachers were missing and 70 have been replaced, it does not mean that the positions for the remaining 30 were not filled. He said there are procedures and ways in the Ministry of Education by which replacements are made.
He also called on education organizations to stop publicly giving statistics that create false impressions that show a difference between absences and the number of replacements.
He added that the effort continues, it is an ongoing struggle and superhuman efforts are being made by teachers and school administrators.
The Education Minister also said that through proposals from the Ministry of Health that were taken to the Cabinet today, there will be a new process of dealing with close contacts to greatly facilitate the work in schools.
He also expressed optimism that schools will continue to function normally and attendance with physical attendance.
Chairman of the Education Committee, DIKO MP Pavlos Mylonas said that they had received many complaints about the situation in schools due to the outbreak of the pandemic and that they would be informed about the issue next Friday at an extraordinary meeting in the presence of the Education Minister. He called upon all forces of the state to assist in improving the conditions of education and examination of the students.
Regarding the four-year examinations and the request for postponement, he said they will see how the situation shapes up by next Friday and will assess the matter calmly, especially for the senior students who are sitting for their future examinations under these circumstances.
AKEL MP Christos Christofides said that the situation in schools is very difficult due to both the objective difficulties that exist and the lack of planning, sloppiness and dialogue between the Ministry and the stakeholders. He spoke of children staying at home as cases or close contacts without meaningful educational engagement, children preparing to take critical examinations while their teachers are not in schools
He also spoke of serious shortages of teachers and lecturers and said there were no replacements and substitutions because there was no proper planning.
He noted that while all stakeholders were calling for the postponement of term examinations because this would be a pedagogical crime, unfortunately the inexplicable jinx of the Minister of Education and DISY led to the situation we are in now.
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