In his statements, Mr. Neokleous assured that all the necessary actions have already been taken for the smooth operation of the primary schools, while the sending of books, which will be completed on time, is still intensive.
The opening of primary schools for primary schools begins on September 7 for teachers and September 14 for students.
Regarding the staffing of schools, Mr. Neokleous said that transfers have been made by the Committee of Education Service while the Ministry of Education is preparing for the placement of teachers in schools that will be completed this week.
Next week, he noted, another series of transfers will be announced related to the teachers' objections, so we estimate that before September we will be ready with the staffing of the schools.
He said that following instructions, the inspectors and the Technical Services have visited all the schools and have registered the construction sites in order to take all the necessary safety measures that have to do with the health and safety of the children.
Asked about this, he said that there are 40 construction sites in primary schools across Cyprus, but in which small projects such as extensions, repairs or maintenance are performed.
Only one primary school has been built this year and this is the 5th Primary School in Paphos that will be open this September.
Mr. Neokleous said that the books have already been prepared from the warehouses and about 70% have been sent to the School Ephorates to be given to the schools and it is expected that the shipment of all the books will be completed soon without any delays in this area.
Breakfast and support with clothing for needy students
The Director of Primary Education Elpidoforos Neokleous stated that the system that was successfully implemented in previous years will continue this year, to give breakfast to 13,000 needy students while an effort is made to implement a program provided by the Ministry of Education to support students in primary schools.
Regarding the availability of breakfast, Mr. Neokleous said that this year there will be more serious control over the criteria and determining who is poor, and it is proven that he needs help.
Regarding the program provided by the Ministry of Education from the EU, he said that "this is for a subsidy for needy students with clothing and school equipment with a budget of 4,7 million euros for five years".
Regarding the innovative changes for the new year, Mr. Neokleous mentioned the change of the program schedule that has been differentiated by the increase of teaching time of Greek, Mathematics and other subjects.
He noted that this year the 180 all-day schools that have existed since October will continue to operate.
Mr. Neokleous stated that the implementation of the institution of the summer school operated with great success this year from June 20 to July 21 with the attendance of 2,500 children in 22 schools.