The first bell rings today in Secondary and General Education, in which it is expected that during the new school year a total of 42.650 students will study, of which 24.989 will study in the high school cycle and 17.661 in the high school cycle.
Additionally, 18 students are expected to attend the six-grade Gymnasium-Lyceum of Rizokarpasos.
For this year, the total of Secondary General Education teachers, who returned to the school units from Monday, September 2, and who are expected to serve will amount to 7.031.
During the new school year 2024-2025, a total of 108 public secondary general education schools will operate, of which 62 middle schools, 36 high schools and 10 six-form schools with a full middle and high school cycle, including the Rizokarpasos High School.
Also, 5 Evening High Schools-High Schools will operate, while in each province there will be 1 Music High School and 1 Music High School, as well as 1 Athletic High School and 1 Athletic High School.
In the meantime, on the occasion of the start of classes in secondary education, the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulidis, together with the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Athina Michailidou, will visit, at 08:00, the XNUMXrd Technical and Vocational School of Education and Training, in Archangelos.
Besides, in her message for the start of the new school and academic year 2024-2025, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Athina Michailidou, mentions, among other things, that "the Education sector is the largest investment of the State and our schools they constitute the most vibrant part of our society".
"As the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, we seek to ensure conditions that promote educational work and offer a learning environment without obstacles and exclusions, prioritizing the quality and creative operation of our schools and universities. Alongside the improvement of the building and logistical infrastructure, we are implementing a series of reforms, policies and actions that upgrade our education system, in accordance with the demands of today's society, modern pedagogical approaches and the needs and abilities of each child, each new and of each young person separately", he adds.
Addressing the students, Mrs. Michailidou invites them to take advantage of the opportunities that will be given to them, to achieve the goals they set, to acquire knowledge and skills, to develop their critical ability, to strengthen their intellectual cultivation and to create friendships and experiences useful for a lifetime.
"For our part, with a vision of the transition to the modern, human-centered and inclusive school and in full cooperation and consultation with the academic and educational staff of our country, we must ensure your inalienable and guaranteed right to education, while creating the prospects for to develop your special interests and your personality and grow into active and democratically minded citizens, citizens who will fight for the progress, liberation and reunification of our homeland," he notes.
Addressing the teachers, the Minister of Education states: "The awareness of the importance and value of the function you perform, your dedicated contribution to the all-round education of our children and young people and your decisive contribution to the evolutionary course of education in our country, constitutes an example that cultivates attitudes and values of life".
"Be sure and confident that we will continue to strengthen your professional development for the benefit of all of you, the children, the youth and the education of our country. I hope that the new year will be worthy of our expectations and efforts, to build together a modern, inclusive public school at all levels of education, without forgetting our debt to continue our fight for a reunited and free Cyprus. Good start and a continuation full of successes for everyone", he concludes.
Secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training (MTEEK)
Regarding Secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training (MTEEK), the number of instructors is 667, while, according to data from the Ministry of Education, the number of students enrolled in morning classes is 4.929 and 588 in evening classes.
This year the following MTEK schools will operate: 11 Technical and Vocational Schools of Education and Training (TESEK), 5 High Schools and TESEK (Poli Chrysochous, Empa, Omodos, Agros and Solea), 6 Evening Technical Schools of Vocational Education (Nicosia, Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca, Famagusta and Poli Chrysochous), TVET Programs at the Prison School, TVET Programs at Special Schools.
After the successful operation of the Lyceum and TESEK of Polis Chrysochous and the Hotel Department of the Apeiteios Gymnasium of Agros, in the 2019-2020 school year two more mixed schools operated: the Lyceum and TESEK of Agios Charalambous Empas and the Omodos School – Gymnasium, Lyceum, Technical and Vocational Education, while from the school year 2022-2023 there is another mixed school, in Solea, where the branch of Agriculture is offered.
The expansion of the ESTEE institution throughout Cyprus has been completed, with the establishment of three new Evening Schools. After the ESTEEs of Nicosia and Limassol, in the 2019-2020 School Year three new ESTEEs operated in Larnaca, Paphos and the free province of Famagusta. From the 2022-2023 school year, as a branch of ESTEE Paphos, ESTEE also operates in Polis Chrysochous, where the branches of Electrical Engineering and Hospitality are offered.
During the 2023-2024 school year, the following Departments will operate at MTEEK: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Applications, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Projects and Construction, Applied Arts, Agriculture, Services, Operation and Management of Hospitality Units, Hotel and Catering Professions , Industrial Design, Maritime and Maritime Professions, Aesthetics - Hairdressing, Viticulture - Winemaking.
The Central Body of the Vocational Education and Training Apprenticeship System (VET) operates in the following TESECs: 1st TESEK Nicosia, 1st TESEK Limassol, 2nd TESEK Limassol, 3rd TESEK Limassol, TESEK Agios Lazaros, Larnaca, TESEK Paphos.
As for the Post-secondary Vocational Education and Training Institutes (MIEK), they operate in all provinces and offer the following Fields of Study: Bakery - Pastry, Electrical Installations and Automation, Organic Horticulture, Dairy - Cheese, Supply Chain Management and Maritime Studies, Networks of Computers and Communications, Construction Project Manager, Culinary Arts, Automotive Engineering, Culinary Arts, Industrial Technician, CNC Design and Technology – Woodworking Industry, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning.
Source: KYPE