‘Racism has no place in school’

Violence, delinquency, and racism are unacceptable in school, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou said on Tuesday ahead of the start of term and following racist attacks on migrants in Limassol and Chlorakas, Paphos over the past week.

Cypriot schools have seen a number of bullying and violent incidents in recent years, with a racist attack taking place in March this year, while in June 2023 another child was reportedly bullied for his sexuality.

Although not an incident of bullying in school, another half-Jamaican girl was also mistreated attempting to board a Limassol bus two years ago, when she was going to school.

Speaking on Tuesday, Michaelidou said: “We want to have calm in our schools to be able to act, to be able to develop children’s creative thinking, so that our teachers can work.”

She added that incidents of violence, delinquency and racism in schools will not be tolerated for this reason and the actions are focused on supporting headteachers, management teams, and also teachers so they can dedicate themselves to their work.

“School is a place of mutual respect, a place of respect for diversity, a place in which every child, every student, has and must have the right to develop their abilities and skills to the maximum,” she said.

She was speaking as seminars were held at the Pedagogical Institute for large groups of teachers to be trained in key topics such as modern technologies as a tool in the lesson, diversity and anti-racist education, topics related to teaching and learning in the context of new designs for student assessment.

She added that what is sought are more student-focused approaches, giving children opportunities to cultivate abilities, skills, and acquire the necessary knowledge to be the active citizens of the future.