THE EDUCATION Ministry yesterday played down a report that British expat pupils were disrupting a Paralimni high school.
An article in Politis yesterday claimed that antisocial behavior by the pupils was affecting the safety and well being of teachers and fellow students at the school.
Paralimni and other coastal towns such as Protaras and Paphos have in recent years become popular places of residence for expatriates.
In turn, there has been a surge of English speaking students attending state schools, which in the past have been predominantly occupied by Greek Cypriots.
While students from a number of countries attend the specific school, according to Politis, the acts of delinquency and often violence were primarily noted among the English speaking students.
The paper quoted Melani Hadjicharalambous, the Headmistress of Paralimni high school, as saying that out of the 37 foreign students at the school, the 20 English speaking students found it the hardest to integrate.
She added that a number of students from Earstern Europe attended the school and were polite and respectful of school regulations.
“They also excel at their school work,” said Hadjicharalambous “despite the language barrier and adjustment challenges.”
Hadjicharalambous expressed concern that the disruptive behavior by a minority would be mimicked by other students, who witness fights and insolence on a daily basis.
But the District Inspector of Higher Education for Larnaca and Famagusta, Sotiris Eleftheriou, said yesterday that antisocial behavior in schools was a nationwide phenomenon.
“It should not, and cannot be attributed to students of a particular nationality.”
He explained that Paralimni high school has a higher number of English speaking students in comparison to most other schools in Cyprus.
“It is easy to misinterpret this type of situation.” said Eleftheriou.
“If disruptive behavior is noted on part of English speaking students, this is because there is a proportionately larger number attending this school than others.”
He added that patterns of antisocial behavior were common among pupils studying in foreign countries, where the deficiency of spoken and written language can create feelings of maladjustment.
“The main challenge that expatriate students face is the language barrier and coping with school work,” said Eleftheriou.
“The inability to communicate with classmates and teachers can easily lead to hostility against the school authorities, and is a perfectly natural phenomenon.”
Paralimni high school is one of 16 schools that will be adopting a pilot programme aimed at integrating foreign students into the state school system.
The programme will implement intensive Greek language classes at the beginning of the school year to improve students’ communication skills.
It will also include welcoming inaugural classes where aspects of Cypriot culture are taught.
