Unwilling to find solutions for the students demanding better anti-coronavirus measures in Greece’s schools, the Education Minister decided to punish them depriving them of school holidays.
Minister Niki Kerameos vowed on Wednesday that in schools occupied by protesting students, classes will be held on school holidays, in Saturdays and on days scheduled for excursions.
Aim of the punitive measures is to compensate for the lost teaching time due to the students protests.
Kerameos added that lessons would revert to distance learning for all schools affected by the protests.
Hundreds of schools across the country have been suspended operation just a few days after the start of the school year on September 14, with students demanding smaller classes and the hiring of more teachers and cleaning staff to protect them from the pandemic. According to students, some 700 schools are under occupation.
At the same time, the Education Ministry and health authorities shut down 123 school-classes and ten schools after teachers or students were tested positive to Covid-19. “93 of these schools are in Attica,” hea dof Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said on Tuesday.
Unable to deal with the real problem, the Education Ministry sent police and prosecutors to schools to investigate underage students as initiators of the protests.
Niki Kerameos reiterated today that “dialogue takes place with schools open” and that “no one can block access to education.”
At the same time she is deaf to the calls by teachers, students and parents to take the necessary precautions in schools.
However, not all parents or teachers support the protests.
Vidoe: parents clash with student sin Alimos suburb, South Athens, Sept 25
Video: School principal in Chania tries to break the closed entrance door
More or less the same happened also to public hospital doctors demanding more permanent staff to cope with the pandemic. Instead of clapping in gratitude, riot police used their batons and tear gas against the protesters on Wednesday.
While the world cheered a certain Greta for disrupting public life by protest, is it any wonder that children follow suit? Instead of blame and spiteful punishment, the youth of Greece deserve better. An educator would know that depriving a child of school holidays and Saturdays after all they have already been through with Lockdown and economical deprivation, would be counter-productive. None of it is the children’s fault.
The minister should resign or forced to resign for incompetence. Where I live, there are smaller classes, their is online education for those who have chosen to take their children out of school because of the virus (yes, it is allowed) and other measures. And that is a country poorer than Greece. This situation causes a lot of stress with children and their parents.
Nowadays they don’t hit children in school anymore; they just hit them with too much stress. Ain’t gonna work. You might lose a complete generation.