Cypriot schools are implementing varying measures today in response to soaring temperatures.
Public kindergartens, primary schools, and supplementary classes in secondary schools will dismiss students at 10:45 am as directed by the Ministry of Education. Teachers are not required to remain at school units after dismissal.
Meanwhile, the Pancyprian Examinations will proceed as scheduled. Education Minister Athina Michaelidou assured that steps are being taken to manage the heat, including utilising available air-conditioned classrooms.
Private kindergartens, however, will operate normally. Their representative body, SIPEK, expressed dissatisfaction with the suspension of public schools. SIPEK criticised the lack of long-term solutions and the late notification for working parents struggling to arrange childcare.
Minister Michaelidou defended the decision as the most practical option, acknowledging that it wouldn’t please everyone. She highlighted a three-year government plan to install air conditioners in schools.
The President of POED, Myria Vassiliou, called for accelerating the air conditioning plan, suggesting a complete school closure might have been preferable today.
Renos Koumides, President of the Organised Parents of Primary Education, emphasised the extraordinary nature of early dismissal and the need to prioritise air conditioner installation in schools.
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