Procedures are underway for the construction of a second High School in Paralimni, due to the overcrowding observed in the first, as reported to the Parliamentary Committee on Education, which discussed the issue on Wednesday.
The joint decision, taken between the school board and the Ministry of Education, as mentioned, has been sent to the Directorate-General for European Programs, Coordination and Development (EPSA) for approval.
The Chairman of the Education Committee, DISY MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis stated in his statements that the conditions have matured and the overpopulation observed in Paralimni High School, requires a decision to be made as soon as possible in order to build a new high school in the Municipality. He added that the position of the Ministry of Education, as it has been forwarded to the Commission today, is also positive and the Ministry, based on a political decision, is positive about the construction of a new High School. Mr. Hatzigiannis welcomed the decision and appealed to start the planning and implementation procedures of the decision as soon as possible.
He added that such a thing is imperative due to the overpopulation that is observed, but also because what will be built will be a sports high school, something that covers a need that existed in the wider area. He also said that the high school will meet the needs of students from different cultures as a result of the presence of refugees and foreign labor in the area.
He also said that the need to build a new primary school in the community of Oroklini was discussed, something for which there should be planning. He added that there are differing views on the construction site, which is blocking the start of work, and said that the Commission called for a dialogue to find a solution so that there is a commonly accepted space by the communities in the area.
AKEL MP Andreas Kafkalias, stated that on the occasion of the discussion in the Education Committee for the overpopulation in the high school of Paralimni and in the primary schools of the Municipality of Livadia and the community of Oroklini, it was found that the Minister. Education in terms of meeting building needs, "runs panting after the developments." He added that it is a general finding that there is not the necessary planning, scheduling and execution of projects to meet the increased needs recorded throughout Cyprus. He added that today, two months before the elections, new announcements, new promises, new schedules were heard. "Let's see," he said.
He also referred to a draft law discussed in the Commission, in order to extend for another year the private tuition centers in order to comply with the provisions of the legislation for the necessary urban planning regulations that need to be made. The extension, he said, was deemed necessary due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic. He also said that they asked the Ministry of Education to inform them about the controls of the implementation of the legislation on private tutoring and their results. As he said, they did not receive satisfactory answers and based on complaints they received for serious violations of the legislation, they registered a relevant issue in the Education Committee in order to exercise the necessary control by the Parliament to the Ministry of Education and to give answers.
DIKO MP Pavlos Mylonas referred to the overpopulation that exists in the schools in Paralimni, Lanitio and Oroklini. As he said, a plan must finally be created, to find immediate solutions for today. He added that in Paralimni they were told that there are about 700 children in a High School with many foreign language students. "The problems are huge, what they are describing to us is shocking and we hope that soothing solutions will be provided to these schools soon," he said. The main thing he noted is to create a plan, so that in the next five years, a decade, schools are built.
ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis said that the need for a second high school in Paralimni is imperative, since it is the largest in Cyprus. As he said, we must all push with all our might and the final decision must be made. He welcomed the positive developments around the issue, of which they were informed today. He expressed the belief that in the immediate future there will be even better news. As he said, a joint decision has been taken between the school Ephorate and the Ministry and has been sent to the EPSA for approval. If approved, he said, then the Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the Ministry of Education should proceed with the studies and then with all the necessary permits to proceed with the construction of the high school. The plan, he added, is estimated to be four years old.
The President of the School Ephorate of Paralimni, Solomos Konstantinou, stated that the study carried out by the School Ephorate, the Municipality of Paralimni and the Ministry of Education for the construction of a second High School has progressed and the EPSA is expected to decide within a month. He expressed the belief that the response of EPSA will be positive in order to proceed with the implementation of the project, which is a Sports High School, a school, as he said, that the region needs immediately with the new data that exist. The space, he said, exists and the good will and funds remain so that its implementation can proceed.
