The President of the Republic, Mr.Nikos Christodoulides, will meet with the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General of the Republic this afternoon, as he said, in order to examine, among other things, the issue of four-month terms.
In his statements to journalists, in the context of his visit to the Primary School "Pefkios Georgiades, in Strovolos, the President of the Republic said that "the foundations are being laid to achieve the goals we have in the issues of education, education, so that our children develop skills, to help them through learning to develop these skills.
I am visiting an all-day school that is a model. I'm excited by everything I've seen, by everything I've heard, and our goal is to expand the institution of full-day schools in primary education. It is clearly easier, so the goal is to make it universal in primary education and to pilot it in secondary education, which is clearly more difficult. There the challenges are much greater.
In the context of the discussions here some issues arise. I have asked the relevant Minister in the coming days to have before me a note with solutions, with timetables, so that we can address any challenges and further enhance the effectiveness of all-day schools."
Asked about the issue of four-month schools, the President said that "our position is clear. I also listen to the criticism that is being made. We have to realise that the election campaign is over and we have to work collectively to address these issues.
The quarters have indeed not achieved their objectives, the objectives were very specific, they have not been achieved and I have spoken to the Minister to see how we can be legally assured that we can move forward with the change of quarters.
Yes to the elimination of the quarters, but there has to be something else on the issue of testing students.
At the same time, we have to take into account that in a school year there cannot be a different test in the first quarter and a different test in the second quarter. So, the quarters, by legislation from September, should be abolished.
What I have discussed and asked the Minister is to look at the weight of the quarters in the final grade. There are some legal issues, the Minister has informed me, I will see the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General this afternoon and one of the issues that we will discuss is the issue of the quarters, so that we can find a solution."
Asked if he was concerned about the content of the syllabus or the way it is taught, the President said "of course. It is a key subject that we will look at because our goal is to move away from an education that aims to cover material and see how - I am not downplaying the importance of the material - at the same time, through our education system, we help our students to develop their skills, how to have critical thinking. This is the main issue and we will also address this issue."
Finally, asked if the issue of strengthening the Greek language courses in the curriculum will be addressed, the President of the Republic said that "we will also address the content and the material taught, with particular emphasis on the Greek language."
Finally, asked if the issue of strengthening the Greek language courses in the curriculum will be addressed, the President of the Republic said that "we will also address the content and the material taught, with particular emphasis on the Greek language. It is an issue that we need to address."
(PM/NG/SX)
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