Myria Vassiliou, president of the Pancyprian Organisation of Greek Teachers (POED), raised concerns yesterday regarding reports of children experiencing nosebleeds and dizziness in primary schools due to high temperatures.
Vassiliou urged the Ministry of Education to take immediate action, stating, “Additional measures should have been taken, or classes should have been dismissed earlier, or schools closed.”
She added that the Ministry of Education should immediately proceed with the installation of air conditioning systems.
Vassiliou further highlighted instances where existing air conditioners in schools were non-functional due to insufficient electrical infrastructure.
POED called for immediate school closures due to a heatwave, despite the Ministry of Education announcing progress on air conditioning installations.
POED, which has long advocated for air conditioning in classrooms, acknowledged the ministry’s move to equip the first 50 schools. However, the union emphasised the urgency of the situation.
Haris Charalambous, POED’s General Secretary, shared photos on Facebook showing classroom temperatures exceeding 44 degrees Celsius.
“44 degrees today!!! The entire Cabinet, MPs, and party leaders should visit schools today if they dare, and spend at least an hour in classrooms. Let them not hide in their air-conditioned offices and sell us pre-election fairy tales. In a country where heatwaves and dust have unfortunately become part of our daily lives, it is shameful for the State and its citizens that we are still discussing when air conditioners will be installed in public schools!!!” he wrote.
He argued that for the past few days, schools without air conditioning should have been closed. and proposed either complete closure for two to three days or early dismissal by 10:00 a.m.
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