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- Ελληνικά
The first reason I am here today - and this is not the first school I am visiting, I have previously visited other schools in Nicosia, I will visit other schools in Limassol and all over free Cyprus - is that for a state that wants to move forward, the biggest investment is education, education.
What is taught in our education, what our children learn in our schools is what determines how our country will develop in 10, in 20, in 30 years. Any area of government is influenced by education, through education.
That is why you teachers, who are often the focus of criticism, are for us the closest partners in achieving the goals we want to achieve to make this country better for us, for our children, a country that has a future and prospects for all its citizens.
So, I want you to approach the excellent Minister of Education - she is one of your people, she started like all of you - to work with her to change all that our education needs.
A state exists for three reasons. A government exists to provide Education, Health Care and Public Safety. If the state does not provide equal opportunity in these three areas for all of its citizens, then there is no reason for the state to exist. Everything else is regulated more or less by the free market. The role of the state is precisely in these three areas and that is why, for us, education, along with health care, are the most important areas of government.
I am here to send this message, I am here because this school is a model. Since it was done here, it means that it can be done for all schools all over the country. And it happened here because there was an excellent cooperation with all the Local Authorities, between the School Ephorate, the Parents and Guardians Association
And it is in this context that, using this successful model - there are other schools with such positive developments - we are in favour of the administrative autonomy of each school. It's the only way we can make our schools places where our kids actually want to come in the morning. And that's the model we're working towards.
It's something we believe can be achieved even better through local government reform. See the models in all countries. Central government has as few responsibilities as possible, we as central government just have to come and contribute financially to help you achieve these goals.
I am here more to see all of you and to listen to you.
(PM/NG/SX)
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