THERE IS uncertainty over the future location of the American Academy Secondary School in Paphos.
With the school now closed for the summer holidays, rumours are rife that the troubled institution may have to move premises before the new school year starts in September.
Principal Barry Clement is away and no one from the school was available to comment but a source close to the school told the Cyprus Mail that the Milton Institute in Paphos has been earmarked as a possible interim location.
The source claimed, “I believe there is a possibility of moving the American Academy Secondary School to this place.
“I think the American academy will operate out of the premises until 2.30pm, at which time the institute will then use it for their lessons.”
The source pointed out that this might be due to the fact that the after-school educational facility is already in possession of an operational licence.
It’s thought that an inspection of the academy was carried out last Friday, the results of which are due soon.
The source continued, “this notion sounds feasible to me, as there seems to be a lot of activity at the institute. There are skips outside and the playground is being tidied up.”
Bureaucracy and red tape has meant that the American Academy is still waiting for a licence, five years after it originally applied.
“I don’t understand what would be gained by the Education Ministry putting 350 kids on the street, the majority of whom are English speakers and maybe can’t attend local schools. It doesn’t do any good for anyone,” the source said.
“Management is trying to do all it can, but I believe many teachers and parents have been left in the dark as to what’s actually going on.
“I believe the parents received a calendar for the new school year and information about trips to Rome at the end of term, and there hasn’t been a mention of a problem.”
Worried parents believe if the school is forced to move, the upheaval will have to take place over the summer holidays, to ensure everything is in place for the start if the news school year.
“I personally think the move would be positive as the building is more modern, but I don’t know how many pupils could be accommodated.”
Maria Maglaraa, an Education Ministry representative for the private schools of Paphos, was also unavailable to verify the situation, as she is absent until Friday.
The American Academy in Paphos, is the sister school of the Limassol school, and opened in 2004.The current site is a temporary one, which is being used until a new school can be built.
The new site in Achaelia has already been purchased, and displays a sign advertising the establishment. Permission to build the school on the site was finally obtained in March this year, and steps to go ahead with the project are under way.
All the correct licenses and papers were filed when the school was established, but a licence can’t be issued because of the current accommodation.
All the procedures have been followed and applied for since the school’s inception, with the hope of gaining all the relevant permissions. But the stumbling block has been the premises.
