Staffing, infrastructure, day-long schooling and security at nursery schools were among issues raised by parents’ associations during Wednesday’s House education committee meeting, demands which they were pleased to say were met with understanding by MPs.

President of the confederation representing parents’ associations for public and community nursery schools Michalis Pittalis presented a list of problems to the MPs, starting from the staffing of single-post nursery schools and the necessity to train the teachers given headmaster duties.

Pittalis also referred to the need to immediately cover the needs of children requiring special schooling, saying for example that an application could be filed in October and speech therapy would begin in March the next year.

Chairman of the committee Pavlos Mylonas stressed the need for proper staffing and said the education minister had promised to solve the problem, hopefully by the beginning of the next academic year.

Pittalis also called for extending day-long schooling to nursery schools and made a correlation with low birth rates.

On the same note, he said children should be taught from a young age of the virtues of a family, to address the shrinking birth rate.

Infrastructure was also on the list, with Pittalis saying that it has become an easy way out to use “fashionable” prefabricated rooms instead of building extensions to accommodate children.

Pittalis said prefabs took away part of the playground and that existing schools should either be property extended or new ones built.

Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides expressed hope that the government’s plans to improve infrastructure would be completed in a reasonable timeframe.

Pittalis also raised the issue of security and demanded CCTV systems to monitor the grounds while the schools were closed.

He furthermore expressed concern about the health education course and the fact that there had been no prior consultation with the parents regarding the voting of legislation.

Disy MP Giorgos Karoullas said day-long schools were necessary to reconcile working and personal time.

He also suggested the creation of an evaluation centre to cover all needs regarding the diagnosis of children with disabilities.

Akel MP Christos Christofides said prevention had been proved to have a positive impact on future adults and that extending preschool would greatly contribute to this, as would day-long schooling.

Christofides welcomed an education ministry pilot programme for two nursery school teachers in some classes, saying that “such pioneering approaches can maximise the results for our children”.

Green party MP Charalambos Theopemptou also agreed on the benefits of day-long schooling, saying it was an important measure in the effort to address the low birth rate.