THE SUCCESS of a recently-introduced programme of promoting multiculturalism in education, the Educational Priority Zones (EPZs), was presented in a school ceremony at one of the participating schools, located in the Turkish Quarter of Limassol yesterday.
The school that has students from 17 countries, including a large number of Turkish Cypriot presented its activities as part of a programme titled Action for a Democratic, Open and Creative School: a living example of peaceful coexistence of Greek-Cypriots, Turkish-Cypriots and students of other nationalities.
“If we had organised our educational system on this basis decades ago our society would not have faced the problems it has such as war and conflict. Everyone, regardless of ethnic background, origin or religion can live and cooperate in a climate of mutual respect, because this is the only way we can realise our dreams and potential in a world that is becoming increasingly complex and demanding,” said the Minister of Education Andreas Demetriou.
EPZs are recently-introduced institutions within the framework of educational reform in Cyprus. The programme is based on the principle of positive discrimination to balance the unequal treatment of certain groups of students, in order to effectively provide equal opportunities to all children.
The Ayios Antonios EPZ comprises six schools including nursery schools, primary schools and high-schools located in the undervalued area of Ayios Antonios, the former Turkish quarter of Limassol.
“In these four years that the Priority Education Zones program has been operating we have managed to reverse prejudice and give living examples of progressive schools with great achievements. A large part of the success is attributed to the creativity, imagination, resourcefulness and hard work of teachers,” said Dr Michalis Papadopoulos, Senior Educational Psychologist, in charge of the ZEP program.
“I will leave from here with a picture of how a school should operate, particularly one located in an area in need of state support. These zones are functioning even better as time goes by and are an exceptional model of a multicultural community,” Demetriou added.
According to Demetriou ethnic conflict in Cyprus should be viewed as a lesson of the past, and not a basis for further tension. “There are always two ways of looking at the past: in terms of its tensions and restrictions or in terms of the lessons we can learn from it. Thus, we can view Cyprus as a plane that foreign pilots are competing to take over, or as an area that is blessed by God for its position, its sun and the potential it offers for civilizations to meet,” he said.
