PtD: Yes to the abolition of four months, but there should be something else in the matter of examination

The President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis, will have a meeting with the General and the Assistant Attorney General of the Republic this afternoon, as he mentioned, in order to examine, among other things, the issue of the four months.

In his statements to journalists, in the context of his visit to the "Pefkios Georgiadis" Primary School, in Strovolos, the President of the Republic said that "the foundations are being laid to achieve the goals we have in matters of education, so that the children us to develop skills, to help them through learning to develop those skills.

I visit a model full day school. I am excited by everything I have seen, everything I have heard, and our goal is to expand the institution of full-day school in primary education. It is clearly easier, therefore, the goal is to do it universally in primary education and to see pilots in secondary education as well, which is clearly more difficult. There the challenges are much greater.

In the context of the discussions here some issues arise. I have asked the responsible Minister in the next few days to have before me a note with solutions, with timetables, so that we can face any challenges that exist and further strengthen the effectiveness of full-day schools".

Asked about the issue of the four months, the President of the Republic said that "our position is clear. I also hear the criticism that is being made. We must realize that the election campaign is over and we must work collectively to address these issues.

The four months have indeed not achieved their goals, the goals were very specific, they have not been achieved and I have spoken with the Minister to see how we can legally ensure that we can proceed with the change of the four months.

Yes to the abolition of four months, but there must be something else in the matter of examining students.

At the same time, let's take into account that in a school year there cannot be a different exam in the first quarter and a different one in the second quarter. So, the four months, legislated from September, should be abolished.

What I discussed and requested from the Minister is to see the importance of the four months in the final grade. There are some legal issues, the Minister has informed me, I will see the General and Assistant Attorney General in the afternoon and one of the issues we will discuss is that of the four months, so that we can find a solution".

Asked to say whether he is concerned about the content of the material or the teaching method, the President of the Republic said "of course. It is a key subject that we will look at because our aim is to get away from an education which aims to cover material and see how – I am not underestimating the importance of material – at the same time through our education system, we help our students to develop their skills, how to have critical thinking. This is the main issue and we will touch on this issue as well."

Finally, when asked if the issue of strengthening the Greek language courses in the curriculum will be examined, the President of the Republic said that "we will also touch upon the content and the material taught, giving special emphasis to the Greek language. It's an issue we have to deal with."