The association of secondary education parents in Larnaca on Wednesday denounced the repeated cancellation of school routes, stressing that hundreds of students and their families were experiencing serious inconveniences and called for the immediate intervention of the transport ministry.

“It cannot be accepted that students remain without transportation and that their studies are disrupted, without immediate and effective intervention by the competent authorities,” the group said in a statement.

According to the association, there have been repeated problems since the beginning of the school year, with many routes not being implemented as planned.

“[We] condemn in the strongest possible terms the decision by Cyprus public transport, the company operating school bus services in the Larnaca district, to cancel scheduled services, with the result that pupils are left without access to their schools for days on end,” the group said in a statement.

The association argued depriving pupils of safe, uninterrupted transport to and from school was unjustifiable, stressing that the service constituted a contractual obligation and that families had duly paid the prescribed fare.  

“Any delinquent behaviour – which organised parents have condemned many times in the past and have called for effective measures to be taken by the state – should not be an alibi for cancelling school schedules and victimising students who bear no responsibility,” the group said.

The association called for the immediate restoration of all routes and for a permanent solution to be found, so that similar incidents do not recur, warning of consequences should this not happen.