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The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, Mrs Athina Michaelidou, on the occasion of the opening of the Pancyprian Examinations, visited today the Kykkos B Lyceum in Egomi.
In the context of her visit, Mrs. Michaelidou made statements to journalists.
Specifically, the Minister of Education said: "We are here, on the first day of the Pancyprian Access Examinations for 2024, in one of the high schools that functions as an Examination Centre. We came here to see the children, to encourage them, just before they enter the classrooms, to give our message: that as little stress as possible helps, constructive stress helps. Also, to mention that this exam is never the end - they will have so many opportunities in their lives, they will have other opportunities for exams - and that this whole journey that they have been on to get here is very, very important, because they have certainly come out already winners."
In response to a reporter's comment that the minister gave a lot of encouragement to students who were stressed, Michailidou said: "It's exactly what they need right now. We all know that it is not possible for them not to have some anxiety, but that anxiety should not overwhelm them. In this I have to say that their parents and friends should help them beforehand, so that we don't make them even more anxious. This anxiety, I repeat, must be constructive, so as to push them to do their utmost to achieve what each and every one of them wants."
Asked if there was any possibility of an acceleration in the timetable for the installation of the air conditioners and a comment that some schools, through the Parents' Association, have already gone ahead with the installation because they could not wait, the Minister said: "On the issue of air conditioners, it is very important to mention that it has been talked about over the last few years. We even issued notices in the past that no air conditioners would be put in at all for environmental reasons. What is important now is that, for the first time, from the very first moment, we said as a government that we are going ahead with a comprehensive plan that will allow us to have air conditioners over a three-year period. As we all understand, it is not easy to do this project overnight. That's why planning goes into it. We started, as we said, and by the end of December 2023 we were ready with the schools. The process requires that we are also fully ready in terms of the plans for the facilities, for the security of the buildings and the security of the networks, and within the next few days, with the closure of the schools, the installation begins in the first 50 schools nationwide, so that then we are given the time to work on the basis of our planning for the three years. It is important for us that we have finally taken the first steps in this direction as well. It is not the most important problem of our education system, we all realize that, but it is important for the improvement of teaching and learning conditions."
In a comment that the issue with the air conditioners mainly affects the children of primary schools who are still continuing their education, since the children in high school are already finished, Michailidou noted: "We should mention that for the primary school children there were those 2-3 days of the heat wave and maybe even 1-2 days that may come, which make it very difficult for us, and we are also very flexible, parents, teachers who feel that there is a problem with a child can leave them at home, which of course they are already doing. There is no question of an examination there or of covering the syllabus, and let us not forget that their holidays begin in a few days. Two months of teachers and primary school children, like everyone else, will be at home, so there is little cause for concern. It is very important, their safety first and foremost, but that is where the human factor comes in, and the teacher and the parent can judge in time whether to send their child to school or pick them up earlier," the Education Minister concluded.
IP
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