Fifty-four state summer schools will be open from June 20 to July 22

The education ministry has announced the launch of the state schools summer programme from Monday, June 20 to Friday, July 22.

A total of 54 schools will participate in the scheme, including 36 primary schools and 18 kindergartens, covering all five districts of Cyprus.

Some 4,500 children are expected to attend.

The opening hours are from 7.45am to 13.05pm or until 4pm, for those parents or guardians who have already submitted a request.

A statement from the ministry said that the aim of the programme is to provide learning and creative opportunities, particularly for children from vulnerable groups of the population.

“Taking into account the existing needs, the education ministry has made an expansion of the summer programme by including five more schools,” it said.

The programme is offered free of charge to all children. Parents or guardians contribute financially only to cover the cost of feeding the children who chose to attend the afternoon school hours.

Additionally, for a second year, the Greek language learning programme will continue to be offered to children with a migrant background, with 25 teachers will be employed for this purpose.

The announcement notes that in order to meet the programme’s operational needs, a total of 544 teachers of primary, pre-primary and special education will be employed, while 56 special teachers and a number of school assistants/assistants will be employed to meet the needs of children in special education.