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- Ελληνικά
The Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Mrs Athina Michaelidou, made a statement to journalists today at the Presidential Palace, after the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
In her statements Mrs. Michaelidou said: "The Council of Ministers today approved the reopening of the Public Kindergarten in Kampos by way of derogation, since new circumstances have arisen now, in the summer, and we have the enrolment of a pupil in the kindergarten. Therefore, as part of the Government's policy to support mountainous and marginal areas, we have decided to operate the school by way of derogation in order to support both the community and the wider region.
Also, at its meeting today, the Council of Ministers approved all the actions that need to be taken for the immediate commencement of the construction of the new Agios Lazaros Technical School in the Larnaca district. Consequently, we are proceeding normally, without any obstacles, in preparation for the start of work on the construction of the Technical School, which is planned to be a modern building that will meet the needs of the surrounding area and which will give us the opportunity to work on the priorities we have set for Technical and Vocational Education in a modern environment with laboratories, technological equipment, etc."
The Minister then answered questions from journalists.
In response to a question regarding the installation of air conditioners in schools, the Minister said: "We should mention that never before has there been a political decision to install and operate air conditioners. The present Government from the very beginning has declared its determination and has prepared a comprehensive plan so that 50 air conditioners are installed first on the basis of specific criteria and then we will proceed with the next schools nationwide. The first phase is being completed in some districts earlier, in some districts a little later. Within the next few weeks it will be completed for everyone and that is important. Nicosia is already in a few days completing the first 10 schools in which air conditioners are planned to be installed. We have a project that is being carried out in full cooperation with the Cyprus Electricity Authority, because along with the installation we are also upgrading networks, as well as the electromechanical installations, because our priority is the safety of both the children and the buildings, the networks, etc. So, we believe that for the first time we will have schools in which air conditioners will operate, with a fully approved procedure by the experts. At the same time, and I stress this, we continue to invest in the environmental comfort of our schools and we have already made progress in this direction, since half of the schools have roof insulation. We have already installed ceiling fans in several schools, so that we have reduced the need to use air conditioners, at least only in the very bad summer weather. Therefore, this plan is moving forward. There are no setbacks in the process, but we are moving forward with the installation as soon as possible in all schools nationwide."
Asked if the schools announced in June will be ready in September, the Minister replied. In the next few weeks of September and early October the first 50 will be in the other provinces. But at the same time we are continuing with the next 50."
(GG/NZ)
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