There are many questions regarding the actions of the Ministry of Education on the situation of some schools in Larnaca, mainly high schools, which are suffocating due to overcrowding.
The result is that lessons are held in prefabricated classrooms and anti-pedagogical methods are used, with the students themselves being the victims, as the organized parents complain. The third-world images, moreover, at the St. Lazarus Technical School indicate the real situation, with commitments to start work on a new Technical School yet to be implemented.
Speaking to Phileleftheros, the President of the Larnaca Secondary Education Parents’ Confederation, Costas Costa, said that the overcrowding problem in some schools is huge.
“For example, in Livadia High School, a lesson in Modern Greek was held under a gazebo and in Aradippou High School we were told that they had a lesson under the trees. Also, although the number of students has increased, the common areas and sanitary facilities remain the same. These are problems that have to do with hygiene and human conditions for teachers and students. In other European countries, children have their own classrooms, they have a locker to put their things in and we have classes in prefabricated rooms.”
The issue of overcrowding in high schools has been repeatedly raised by MPs, other Larnaca officials, and the Municipality, who are asking for the promise to build a new high school to be implemented.
The Ministry of Education, however, seems to “read” the issue differently, referring to a study that shows that… overall there is no problem of overcrowding in Larnaca schools.
