At the next Council of Ministers, decisions will be made on the timing of the students' return to the Gymnasiums, said today the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, Prodromos Prodromou.
In statements in Larnaca, after his visit to the Primary School of Agios Lazaros and when asked about the return of students to the Gymnasiums, the Minister replied that there is "a decree in force that lasts until Wednesday, March 31 and the Ministry of Education from February. we had said and we had set as a goal, if they allow it, to the extent that the health conditions allow it, we seek the children to attend the schools with physical presence ".
"We expect that this will be possible for the High School, I can not prejudge the decisions," he said, noting that "decisions will be taken at the next Council of Ministers."
He also expressed the hope that "the reasons that had pushed the experts, the Advisory Group, last time, to advise us to stay in the Gymnasiums with distance education, that they will have disappeared and we will be able to have their children from April High schools in schools. We all agree, the parents of course want this, the teachers are waiting for the children, the Ministry is ready and of course we will adjust the teaching and the school procedures, taking into account this year and what has happened so far ".
The Minister of Education was also asked about a specific protocol handed over to both him and the Minister of Health by the Special Advisory Committee, with various suggestions which are divided into two time periods for both this year and the next school year.
Mr. Prodromou said that "we have the suggestions and by three quarters is the protocol that we already implement, which has been made by the Special Advisory Committee in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the educational organizations, with which we had very good cooperation". "The result is the protocol that is currently in place," he said, adding that we will continue to implement these recommendations.
He also noted that it is an ongoing process, it is an ongoing process for which we had a very good cooperation and I had repeatedly especially thanked Dr. Zoe Dorothea Pana, a member of the Committee.
"At the moment we are considering additional suggestions on some issues and some things that may be implemented," he added.
According to the Minister of Education, the suggestions that have been made usually have various alternative solutions.
"We will continue the dialogue as it did this school year and we will continue for the next one," he said, expressing the hope that "the measures will be much more limited." "As long as the vaccination program goes as planned, in the summer we will have reached the point where we will be in a much better position to be active, having the population with the immunity provided by the vaccines," he added.
However, Mr. Prodromou concluded "we will prepare for next September as well".
Regarding his visit to the Primary School of Agios Lazaros, the Minister expressed "pride because we see a really beautiful school building, which was delivered last November" with the renovation process starting in 2018.
He added that "it is a project owed by the state at a cost of close to three million euros. "Children are already attending the school that is 12th grade and seeing the faces and smiles of the children who are already attending, we find that it is worth the investment in education".
He also stated that "in cooperation with the School Tax Office and the District Services of the Ministry of Education, an effort will be made for parents to get to know the school, which has all the specialized rooms for all subjects, special rooms properly equipped, laboratories, space for special education, for speech therapy and auxiliary spaces for entertainment, for all school activities ".
At the same time he expressed the hope that the parents in Larnaca will see the renovated Primary School of Agios Lazaros, other children will go to study since it has the opportunity to host much more than what exists today.
Mr. Prodromou expressed satisfaction for the fact that "today we are making a better tomorrow" and thanked the Mayor of Larnaca for the tour of the city they did together which, as he said, "is worth it to see that Larnaca is moving forward".
"I am happy because the government's desire is to take care of all the cities, all parts of Cyprus and especially each one and the special needs that can and certainly do exist in Larnaca," he concluded.