‘We don’t want students to finish school with high grades but unable to cope in society’

President Nikos Christodoulides visited the Paralimni gymnasium on Monday for “national reasons” and announced upgrades to the school worth €5.5 million as well as a new sports school in the region at a cost of €15m.

Accompanied by Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, he said he chose to visit the specific school as it was part of the Famagusta district that is under Turkish occupation and ending “this anomaly” was a top priority for his government.

This was not the only reason for selecting Paralimni gymnasium at the start of the new school year. Christodoulides said it was “the largest high school in Cyprus”, with very good results among students, for which he congratulated teachers and pupils alike.

High schools across the island opened on Friday and primary schools on Monday.

The education minister promised a series of changes to the education system, some of which had been decades in the making.

“The government is seriously investing in education,” Michaelidou said, adding that changes included curriculums, teachers’ evaluations and the list of appointments.

The president said the effort was to give all schools across the island the same attention and to students the same quality of education, whether they were in the centre or remote villages.

He said the government had decided to operate schools in villages with just two students, thus giving them the same opportunities as those in the capital.

Christodoulides mentioned the analytical programmes, saying teaching material has been reduced and critical thinking introduced.

“We don’t want students who will just memorise the material and finish school with high grades but unable to cope in society,” he said.

Emphasis will be placed on technical education, which the president said had been downgraded for years, leading to a scarcity of technically-skilled Cypriots and the necessity to bring in workers from abroad.

Two technical gymnasiums will operate this year – one in Nicosia and one in Limassol – on a pilot basis. Technical education has previously started at lyceum level.

The government is also upgrading schools island-wide. This, he said, included air conditioning, with 45 per cent of schools now equipped compared to 10 per cent last year. On this issue, Michaelidou said all schools are set to be air conditioned by the end of 2026, which she described as “very important”.

Referring to teacher evaluations, Christodoulides expressed hope that an agreement would be reached soon. “We are all being evaluated on a daily basis. The same must apply for our teachers, who we are very proud of,” he said.

During the visit, Christodoulides, flanked by Michaelidou and other officials, signed an agreement for the establishment of a district education office in Famagusta.

Michaelidou said “we are starting the new year with optimism, with many new programmes, with educational actions and our aim is clear: to have children who learn in a safe environment and are happy.

“We are not just interested in the children’s performance. We want them to be well and mental health is a priority,” she added.

Michaelidou echoed the president’s message that “we are investing in education”, adding that “if we want to have a future for our children, as we all envision it, this huge investment in education must produce results.”

The minister said efforts were ongoing to solve minor problems and make sure schools were properly staffed.

The ministry also touched on the issue of extra-curricular lessons, explaining that most of the time the children were not sent to extra lessons because they needed them, but because the parents thought it was best to do so. “We are offering a solution with the all-day school,” Michaelidou said, more of which are being opened around the island.

Michaelidou also visited the Xylotymbou nursery and primary schools. She said primary schools welcomed 66,000 children on Monday, 9,000 of which were in the first class.

She said emphasis was being placed on preschool education as well as skills, such as financial literacy and professional guidance counselling from primary school.