AROUND 5,000 elementary school teachers took part in a two-hour strike yesterday morning, calling for measures to tackle a recent rise in school violence.
Primary school and nursery teachers were striking from 7.30 to 9.05am over the lack of safety for pupils and teachers on school grounds and over delinquency in public Primary Education.
Teachers union POED Chairman, Demetris Mikellides said this was the first time such action had taken place.
“Over the last 17 years, there has never a strike of this sort… We have to save primary schools, they are one of the last safe havens for education.”
“We want the necessary conditions of security, support and academic conditions”
According to a statement from the teachers’ union: “We are taking action, not because we want anything for ourselves but because we want a safe learning environment where children can grow and learn in an atmosphere of joy and creativity”.
Mikellides also mentioned a memorandum POED sent to the Education Minister last week on school violence and delinquency, indicating measures for a practical solution for both the prevention and treatment of delinquent behaviour.
“These are 18 points, which we believe are all equally important and none of them alone can solve the problem… Everyone must co-operate to implement the measures”.
In the memo, POED considers mental health service centres and the strengthening of educational psychology service a priority.
It also proposes to revise the discipline regulations, the proper fencing of school premises and implementing of safety procedures for anyone wanting to enter school premises.
POED also expressed its deep concern over rise in the phenomenon of child delinquency and violence in schools.
House Education Committee Chairman Nicos Tornaritis said that , “Measure that will have obvious results have to be taken because we have only hear words so far over the last couple of years over the need for educational reform: unfortunately, up until now there has been just talk and no action”
Education Minister Andreas Demetriou yesterday said that, “All the countries that tried to tackle anti-social behaviour by guarding schools and giving a sense of policing have worsened the situation.
“Instead of this policing, we will develop a series of measures that will go straight to the heart of the problem, which in reality is the family itself.”
Classes started at 9.25am, but a low attendance of students was noted at almost all the schools due to the fact that the strike threw a lot of parents off schedule.
Those students who did attend were taken to school by their grandparents or by other parents, who weren’t working, dropping off five to six students at a time.
