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- Ελληνικά
On the occasion of the start of the school year, Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Athena Michaelidou, together with the President of the Republic, visited the Acropolis High School in Nicosia and then the Agios Antonios High School in Limassol.
In the context of her visit to Agios Antonios High School, Mrs Michaelidou, in her statements to journalists, said: "We are here today at Agios Antonios Lyceum in Limassol. It is a multicultural school, a school that proves that our goal for an inclusive school, for a democratic school can be realized and that is why we came here, to support and empower both the teachers and the students.
In a moment I will have the opportunity to talk to the children, to see how they are settled in their classrooms. I was pleased to find out from the management team that the school is fully staffed, the books are already in place, the educational and pedagogical materials are there. For us the school is for all children. The rights of every child are a priority for us, so that everyone can create. This year we aim to take a step towards our vision of a modern school and an education system in which children, in addition to knowledge, can cultivate skills and abilities that will make them capable of contributing to society tomorrow.
At the same time we want to have happy people in our schools, happy children, happy teachers so that creation is a reality."
The Minister of Education then answered questions from journalists.
In response to a journalist's question about whether everything is running smoothly, the Minister said: "I am happy to say that the situation in the schools is very satisfactory. We are not facing any particular issues and we have not faced any pedagogical issues."
Asked about building issues and whether there are schools construction sites, Ms. Michaelidou noted: "This is a dynamic process of expanding, correcting our buildings and even erecting them. We have already made our building schedule public since July so that everyone knows where we have projects and when they will be completed. It is very positive that we have projects in the schools, we are pleased that we are spending a significant amount of money to expand and improve the infrastructure and this should be viewed positively by everyone, as long as all safety measures for our students are observed, so that everyone can work in a safe environment.
In response to a question regarding the timetable set for the installation of air conditioners in schools, Mrs Michaelidou said. Air conditioning is a chronic issue. We have said from the beginning that this Government is showing the necessary sensitivity. We understand and make the assumption, of course, that we cannot work in these temperatures without having the necessary temperature in our classrooms. So we are starting now, before the end of 2023, to install air conditioners in classrooms but on the basis of specific criteria. These criteria have to do with the safety of the children and the safety of the buildings. We have at our disposal various studies, which were done by grateful people on thermal comfort issues, but we are clearly proceeding with the installation before the end of this year."
Asked about the measures the Ministry has taken following the recent incidents of racist violence in Cyprus, the Minister noted: "For us all schools are the same and we give due attention to all schools. We are interested in giving all children without exception the opportunities they deserve to progress, especially for children with an immigrant biography, we have a policy that we are following, we are increasing the hours of teaching Greek, we believe that without learning Greek they cannot easily get into the school curriculum, so we are increasing the hours of Greek, as well as strengthening the assessment of Greek language skills, so that they can be facilitated in the other functions of the school. No racism will be tolerated in our schools. We are talking about children, we are talking about teachers. Our job is precisely to impart the right values, the right attitudes towards life, so that they can respect each other, accept diversity, but above all so that they can all live and create together," the Education Minister concluded.
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