Secondary school students returned this week to classrooms without air conditioning, while primary school teachers came back to find textbooks missing, according to two teaching unions.
OELMEK, the secondary teachers‘ union, said on Tuesday that a large number of schools remain without air conditioning despite official promises, which it called an unacceptable situation given Cyprus’s high temperatures. Students and teachers are being forced to spend long hours in difficult classroom conditions, the union said, calling the issue “primarily an issue of health, safety and dignified conditions of learning and work.”
OELMEK also criticised the Education Ministry, saying it could not keep limiting itself to listing excuses for the delays.
POED, the primary teachers’ union, raised a separate complaint after an internal circular reached schools. The circular revealed that textbooks are missing and are not expected until October. POED president Myria Vasiliou said it was unthinkable for children to start the school year without books, and that they were being asked to study from photocopies instead.
