Pr: The effort being made on the part of both Ministries and the Government is to ensure that schools operate as smoothly as possible and attend classes
The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, Mr. Prodromos Prodromou participated today in the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Culture to discuss the operation of schools and the problems arising due to the pandemic.
After the session, Mr Prodromou in a statement to journalists said: "At today's extraordinary session of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Culture, information was given on the procedure for handling the operation of schools and on the procedures for replacements/replacements of absent teaching staff.
The members of the Committee were given the opportunity to be fully informed, both by the Chairman of the Education Service Committee, about the really very difficult but effective procedures that are being followed, and by the directorates of the Ministry on the planning that has Despite the problems, it is fortunate that so far we have managed to have teachers in all departments.
At the same time, both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education were informed about the proposal that has been adopted by the Council of Ministers. It is a proposal by the Scientific Advisory Committee for additional diagnostic tests to be carried out on children who are found to be close contacts, so that after a negative diagnosis, they can attend their classes at school, given that their situation will be continuously monitored with diagnostic tests. As already communicated, the Ministry of Health is currently working on the practicalities of implementing such a measure. We will have a final proposal for the practical implementation of the measure on Monday. Specifically, a joint meeting of the Ministries of Education, Health, together with the head of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Konstantinos Tsioutis, educational organizations and organized parents, will be held on Monday at 15:00 to be briefed to hear suggestions so that the final decisions can be implemented.
The effort being made on the part of both Ministries and the Government is to ensure as much as possible the smooth running of schools and attendance of classes, while making sure, with the standards and safety rules given by the medical side, that we have safe schools. There is no need to get upset. We need to calmly look at how to implement medically acceptable solutions, always with the advice of the specialists, so that schools can continue to operate with a physical presence.
Speaking of schools, I want to say that today, which is the first day of the first quarter assessments, there are more than 7,000 Grade 3 and Grade 3 Technical students in schools to sit for the exams. Everything has gone smoothly. We have of course had a number of absentees, children who are either dropouts, close contacts, or did not show up for other reasons. These children will have the opportunity after the examination period is over to sit for a second set of examinations. The bottom line is that all pupils will have the opportunity to be assessed equally. That is the purpose of the Ministry and the school.
I would also like to add that today we have started, at the initiative of the National Coordinator, the Year of Youth. The EU has declared 2022 the Year of Youth. It is not something symbolic, it is something essential, because it is well known that our young people are particularly affected by the conditions of the pandemic. In particular, areas such as culture, sport, but also education and professional opportunities are affected, so the EU is aptly targeting this year as the Year of Youth.
We need to see how to support, empower and give opportunities to youth on the basis of the European Programmes with the first objective of familiarising and involving our young people in the EU itself, but also with other main objectives such as the objective of a digital tomorrow, a "green" tomorrow, which are issues that above all concern youth. We are investing in youth for a better tomorrow.
The initiative of the National Coordinator, Mr Panagiotis Sentonas, to organise a participatory workshop involving the relevant Ministries, but also a representative of the Parliament, representatives of all organised youth organisations, the Office of the European Parliament, the European Commission and others is particularly appropriate in order to plan the actions together. The idea was to have a participatory approach in order to get the best possible results but, above all, to give young people a voice and opportunities.
I hope that despite the difficulties and limitations, we will complement all these actions planned either by the Cyprus Youth Organisation, or by the European Programmes, or by the Ministries, in order to really and practically support our young people", the Minister of Education concluded.
Afterwards, Mr Prodromou answered questions from journalists.
Asked about next Monday's meeting, the Minister of Education said: "In essence, the issue is for the Ministry of Health to present to us the way in which the additional diagnostic test will be carried out. There is no question of a claim from either side. If it is certified that, in a medically valid way, children will be able to attend classes after a diagnostic test, there is no question of not accepting this proposal. The issue is to find the practical arrangements so that the diagnostic tests can be carried out and that this can be done reliably. Let me remind you that before Christmas in primary education there was one weekly diagnosis, now there are two. I would also like to remind you that last school year we did not have diagnostic tests in primary education. I point these out to show that the course is dynamic. We keep taking the measures that are recommended by the specialists and we as a Ministry and as a Government, and based on the decision of the Council of Ministers, are trying to implement the recommendations made by the medical side. There are no dogmas. On the second day we will discuss, but let me say that it is not a matter of claims, demands, positions, it is a matter of adopting a valid solution, which will contribute, as far as possible, to the uninterrupted and better functioning of the schools. We cannot, on the one hand, hear complaints that we have problems with staffing and replacements, and on the other hand, while trying to find arrangements for the smoother operation of schools, not be prepared to discuss them. I think that the medical side should have the first say, and from there we will discuss the practical issues. It has already become apparent that the protests that have been heard so far that teachers do not want to carry out diagnostic tests were unnecessary. There is no such issue, although it is a practice that exists in other countries."
In response to the comment that Mr. Silvestros referred to a pilot implementation of the measure and whether he has been informed of such, Prodromou said: "If children are given the opportunity - who, although there has been close case contact, after diagnostic tests that satisfy the medical side - can attend the course and the parents prefer the child to be put on self-limitation as contact, they can do so, we will not impose anything. If we are talking about piloting I suppose it is related to the numbers, the incidence of cases, the number of contacts, the geographical location of the schools. These are being studied at the moment by the Ministry of Health and I cannot, nor would I want to, anticipate or guess. We will see the final proposal. I just want to reassure and reassure, where there are concerns, that our intention, as well as that of the Ministry of Health, is to make a positive proposal that will not affect health security but will provide better opportunities for schools, which are being tested every day. Teachers and principals are making tremendous efforts for which the state is grateful. They contribute and contribute and it is no accident that we keep schools running. So with this approach is where we will go on Monday with constructive suggestions, from there we will hear suggestions and comments. If the Ministry of Health's proposal is for a pilot implementation we will look at it."
In response to a question as to why a Cabinet decision has been taken on this measure, since it was not clear how it would be implemented, the Education Minister noted: "Because it was a recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Cabinet Decision was to look at implementation. This is the phase we are at. It is not helpful to protest or react before this particular proposal is made. That the Cabinet at this juncture of time rushed to make a decision was the right step. We must be proactive. Time is running out, the situation can change radically, so we need to have quicker reactions. We tried to do something similar and did so with the replacements. What I told the Commission is that since 4 January, including the Christmas holiday and the weekend before 10 January, the Ministry of Education has been constantly planning for the reopening and the replacements. From comments that have been made, I will say that sometimes the ministry officials, the school administrators that we have been in contact with and all the other teachers who are active and really over-efforting are being wronged. It is unfair for them to hear excoriating statements that the Ministry of Education did nothing.
By the same token, we tried in the Cabinet, based on a motion that was tabled, to anticipate the possibility of even more pressure. It seems that the numbers are stable, so we are trying to have a set of measures that will allow us to better manage the pandemic."
IP
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