Parliamentary Committee on Education - Visit to the High School of Paralimni and meeting at the Municipal Palace of Paralimni, in the presence of MPs, General Director of the Ministry, the advisor to the Minister of Education George Skalias, Pancyprian Association of Parents of Secondary Education, , local actors and high school students.
The Chairman of the Education Committee of the Parliament, Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, stated that “today we visited and saw the problems of Paralimni High School, a school facing a problem of overcrowding, transitional during the reconstruction and problems that have arisen due to the recent tornado, resulting in a school emergency. The necessary solutions must be given, but the burning issue is that in Paralimni there is an urgent need to create a new additional High School ".
He added that "we can not talk about a population of 700 students in a school, this is unthinkable and we can not combine High School with High School. We have overcome these as an educational system, we have decided for decades, the Lyceums and the Gymnasiums operate separately and the exception cannot come here and unite the two cycles of Secondary Education ".
Answering a relevant question, Mr. Hatzigiannis said that “today we heard interim solutions from the Ministry. The solution proposed by the Ministry was rejected and we insist that a second High School should be created ".
Asked whether the Education Committee is satisfied with the proposals of the Ministry of Education, he replied “in no case are they satisfied with proposals that no longer lead to the creation of a new school. Additional time will be given 3-4 weeks for the Ministry to study the new proposals that are put on the table "he said and called on the Ministry, the Administration to be concerned and the government to come to the aid now and to study very seriously with a political proposal, the recommendation of the new Gymnasium of Paralimni ”.
In another question, Mr. Hatzigiannis said that “it is the responsibility of the Parliament to create those conditions for a proper dialogue to resolve this problem. We believe that the only end is the creation of a new High School, dogmatically we now see it both in terms of education and in terms of population, we see that there is no other option ".
In his statements, the Famagusta MP of AKEL, Nikos Kettiros, stated that “we are very concerned about the situation at Paralimni High School, since out of the six prefabricated prefabricated rooms, three have recently been destroyed by a tornado. Of the 21 departments that operate in the High School, 14 are mobile, we are talking about 325 students out of the 660 that exist in the school ".
Mr. Kettiros asked if "Paralimni High School is a school", he added that valuable time is lost and serious safety issues are raised, especially for students. The solutions for Paralimni High School must be given immediately and we will not accept patches this time, since the students of the free area of Famagusta have the right to equal treatment with the students of the other provinces ".
Unfortunately, he continued "the commitment given by the former Minister of Education, Costas Hambiaouris, for five additional prefabricated rooms, in addition to the three that have been destroyed, today we have been informed that it no longer exists. However, a competent official of the Ministry of Education told us that he will investigate the issue and we hope that there will be a response at least this time ".
For his part, Solomos Konstantinou, President of the School Tax Office of Paralimni, stated that “all the bodies, the management of the School, the Municipality and the Technical Services, tried to correct the problems before the start of the schools after the Christmas holidays, something that we succeeded. "Unfortunately, the tornado destroyed three detachable rooms and we immediately started the procedures for their replacement, since they can not be used".
He added that the Technical Services have given instructions to the contractor and we are waiting for the instructions from the Traffic Police to transfer the three detachable rooms from Nicosia to Paralimni. The School Tax Office has received instructions for the space where the classrooms will be located, ie in the teachers' parking lot and this space will be moved to another location.
Regarding the issue of the anti-seismic expansion of Paralimni High School, Mr. Konstantinou said that “we are very close to the announcement of offers and by the end of June, the beginning of July, the anti-seismic expansion of the school will begin. It will cost 3,8 million euros and with its completion it will become a modern new school with specifications of the new Gymnasiums ".
Asked about the overcrowding of the High School, he replied that the School Tax Office believes that “Paralimni needs a second High School and we have already agreed with Ayia Napa for its construction site. We have prepared a plan, which we are studying with the Mayor of Paralimni and then with all the competent Services we will request a meeting with the Minister of Education to try to change the existing data, so that the answer for the construction of a second High School is positive ".
Answering a relevant question, Mr. Konstantinou said that from studies of officials of the Ministry of Education "we have realized that they do not support the construction of a second High School. However, they have hinted that one of our studies can reverse the situation and I believe that with the completion within ten days of the study that we have started, we will convince the officials of the Ministry of Education, so that the construction of a second High School can take place ".
On his part, the Mayor of Paralimni, Theodoros Pyrillis, stated that “from today's meeting, it seems that there is a difference of opinion between the Ministry of Education and the local actors in matters of education. However, everyone has agreed to present the real facts that exist on this issue and we are satisfied with the fact that if we prove that there are needs in any field of education, elementary, primary or secondary, the Ministry will proceed with planning and implementation what needs to be done ”.
He added that "the data we have fully substantiate the construction of a second Gymnasium and a second Lyceum in Paralimni, while it will be presented to the officials of the Ministry of Education and complete strategic planning in matters of education, even possibly with provision for local government reform".
The Mayor must continue "to believe the Ministry that it is trying to save space and do the right things that in the past the pressure of the local authorities, turned out to bring wrong actions. "Today there are schools that do not have a sufficient number of students for this and we will prove to them what needs to be done and the decisions that need to be taken immediately."
According to Mr. Pyrillis, "we must create infrastructure to have it when we really need it and not wait to find dead ends to create infrastructure".
Answering a relevant question, the Mayor linked the issue of Local Government reform with Primary Education and said that “there are empty primary schools in Sotira and Deryneia while there is overcrowding in the primary schools of Paralimni. At the moment we do not have a new Municipality, we are in the context of the reform and it has been agreed by the Municipalities of Sotiras and Deryneia to make the Deryneia High School six-grade, something that does not find us opposed ".
We, he continued "will ask for the educational infrastructure that our place needs so that it can cover the development that is coming to the free province of Famagusta".
To another question, Mr. Pyrillis answered that “the Ministry of Education must be scientifically convinced that there is a need for a second High School in Paralimni. What we do not realize is that, as mentioned in the meeting, in a half-liter bottle of water, we try to put 700 milligrams "he said and noted that" it was decided that within the next two weeks, a meeting will be held with officials at the Ministry of Education for let us examine and put down each one his own data ”.