The bell sounded Monday morning for 1,3 million Greek students of primary and secondary education. However the majority of them went back home without books. Some got photocopies of the first chapters of textbooks, some DVD and some got links to Education Ministry website where they can download files with excerpts from the necessary books. Pupils have been asked to bring to schools their old books – if they still have them.
It is the first time after the German occupation in 1945 that such an unprecedented shortage of textbooks occur. Some parents and teachers groups blame the Ministry of Education for it for giving a delayed printing order. The Ministry blames the council of auditors for delaying the approval of the spending. The Ministry compromised that all students will have their books by end of October.
At the same time, Greek media claim, that there are 10,000 less teachers in the schools than needed, while transport problems of student shave not be sufficiently solved yet.
Meanwhile, The National Printing House began over the weekend the printing of 40 pages of 50,000 textbooks for the 3rd Gymnasium class. Two pupils will have to share a book.
I guess one pupil will read the left part and the other the right part of the book. Then most likely they will have to share the school tests as well.
Parents booed Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou when she delivered a speech at a primary school in Agia Paraskevi suburb of Athens and asked their ‘solidarity in these hard times’.
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Quite some parents had to spend more than 40 euros in recent days to buy some books for their kids. Those books were available for private schools, as there the pupils buy the books. They are free of charge for public school students.
The total failure of the state to meet its obligations has been praised as … Digital School. Pupils and students should be glad to have a chair to sit…
A neighbor, mother of two 8 and 10 years old, has been wondering about the schedule at home so that both kids can use the only one pc available. “A second pc???? There is not a single euro for that” she told me and looked at me as if I was a Marsian posing the question…
Here is a link to download the textbook files (Search for the PDF files) Also teachers can download their teaching books intrustions. And maybe print 56 pages.
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