A ban on the transportation and use of mobile phones by primary school students, extending to the duration of full-day and summer programmes, as well as the utilization of school assistants for students receiving support and in morning programmes, are included, according to our information, in the operating regulations of primary schools being developed by the Ministry of Education.
These regulations have been under discussion recently in the Education Committee of the Parliament, aiming for these substantial changes to be implemented from the upcoming academic year.
Indeed, the Ministry seems to have taken into account suggestions made in the last session of the Education Committee on this matter by the AKEL MP, Christos Christophides, who emphasized the need for full-day programmes to start concurrently with morning classes (i.e., to operate for at least one more month) and for summer programmes to commence immediately after the school closures for the summer.
According to the “Operating Regulations of Public Primary Schools of 2024,” attendance of all students is mandatory in the unified full-day primary school.
“Classes begin on the second Monday of September (editor’s note: instead of October) and end on the Wednesday preceding the penultimate Friday of June (editor’s note: instead of May), including.”
The unified full-day primary school operates on a unified timetable, with a single administration and staff, but also with upgraded educational content.
Where the optional full-day primary school, special education school, and kindergarten are implemented, the participation of the school’s students in the system is optional. However, if they decide to participate in the system, their attendance in the school’s afternoon zone becomes compulsory.
The attendance of students in the afternoon zone of optional full-day programmes starts on the fourth Monday of September (slightly later than the unified full-day) and ends on the Wednesday preceding the penultimate Friday of June, including.
In both unified and optional full-day programmes, students who are served by a school assistant/companion, after approval by the Provincial Committee for Special Education and Training, during morning attendance, continue to be served by a school assistant/companion during afternoon attendance if they choose to attend an optional full-day school.
Regarding the summer school, it starts on the first working day after the penultimate Friday of June and ends on the last Friday of July.
Students who are served by a school assistant/companion, after approval by the Provincial Committee for Special Education and Training, during the school term, continue to be served by a school assistant/companion during their attendance in summer school if they choose to attend summer school.
