A mother was removed on Tuesday morning by police from a Limassol primary school that she has been attending daily since December with one of her disabled children that requires assistance, Phileleftheros reports.
The mother told ACTIVE Radio on Tuesday afternoon that the reason she has been staying with her child at school is that an aide has not yet been approved by the competent department at the Ministry of Education.
“I am disappointed at the Ministry for this development. I am fighting for my children and their safety. All I ask to stop showing up is the approval of an aide for my child,” the mother said, adding that nobody minded her presence at the school except the headmaster, and stated that she will keep attending school with her child despite the police’s involvement.
On Tuesday the school’s headmaster called the police to remove the mother after several warnings to her last week that measures would be taken if she continued accompanying her child in classes.
Police reportedly delivered a warning to her on Friday that she is not allowed to enter the school premises during school hours, and following her reappearance on Tuesday police removed her from the school and took her to a police station where they took her statement. Her removal by police was condemned by organised parents of children with disabilities.
According to the mother, both children of the family are in their first year of primary school but are in different classes, and are both in need of a school aide due to their disability, but so far only one of them has had one approved by the ministry.
The school is attended by a total of three disabled children that are cared for by two aides approved by the Ministry of Education. Sources from the Ministry said that its position was that the two aides are able to care for all three children without problems.
The Minister of Education Prodromos Prodromou said that this is an issue they have been dealing with for some time, calling for “everyone’s self-restraint and understanding”.
“There are rules in schools that prohibit the presence of parents, which need to be followed. There are existing aides for that school and a request has been submitted for an additional one.
“But this is not how these matters are resolved; one cannot make their own decisions, complicating the educational process,” he concluded.
Read more:
https://in-cyprus.com/moe-induction-of-migrant-children-in-schools-a-priority/
