On the weekend of 28-29 September 2024, a delegation of the Board of Directors of ELME Piraeus visited Kythera to discuss the educational and social problems faced by teachers, students and parents on the island. During the tour, meetings were held with the teachers of the Gymnasium and Lyceum of Kythera, as well as with parents and representatives of the Municipality. The main topic of discussion was the successful effort to prevent the merging of departments in schools, while issues such as teacher vacancies, the difficult living conditions on the island and the shortages in public health facilities were also discussed. The ELME delegation pledged to continue supporting the residents and to return to monitor the development of the problems. Read the press release below.
From the visit of the delegation of the Board of Directors of ELME Piraeus to Kythera
On the weekend of 28-29/9, a delegation of the Board of the ELME made a tour visit to the island of Kythera. As part of the visit, a meeting was held with the colleagues of the Gymnasium and Lyceum of Kythera, a meeting with the parents of the two schools, and a meeting with the Deputy Mayor of Education, Social Policy and Social Care, Mr. D. Kalligeros.
The occasion of the visit was the very important struggle of colleagues-parents and students against the departmental mergers, a struggle that led to the return of all the schools and the retention of their departments. Despite the very strong pressure from the Piraeus Department of Education, the Attica Department of Education and the Ministry of Education for the merger of departments, even with 29 children, the pressure for compulsory overtime, etc., the struggle brought results.
During the meetings with colleagues and parents, not only the problems of the two schools were discussed, but also the life on the island in general. They identified long-standing problems that exist and pointed out the necessary common struggle of parents-teachers-students and all the people of the island. It was also noted that the daily life of teachers is very difficult, despite their great efforts to fulfil their pedagogical task.
Some of the problems discussed:
- The gaps so far (before the second phase of recruitment of substitutes) were tens of hours in both schools (e.g. in the high school there were 35 hours of gaps with 5 departments), since many specialties are missing (at the time of our visit there were missing philologists, mathematicians, biologist in the high school, there were no PE04 in the high school, etc.), so the two schools have only 2-4 hours a day. The leaves taken by fellow newly appointed teachers were declared as of 8/23, so there was all the time in the world to replace them immediately.
- Some hours are spent at the high school and others at the middle school (even with full time the middle school will have some 6 hours while the high school will have some 7 hours), so the middle school students will have to wait for the high school students to leave together with the buses.
- There are no full-day classes in the island's primary schools, at least until the day of the visit to the island.
- The problem of teacher housing is too acute. Rents are too high, and even if something more affordable is found, most houses are only available, at best, for the period 10-15/9 to 30/6. The proposal by the municipality to provide accommodation in cells in the monastery is practically unfeasible.
- The overall cost of living is prohibitive as everything is more expensive on the island (food, petrol, etc.).
- Due to the high cost of living, too many residents are forced to work two jobs, resulting in a shrinking personal life and lack of free time.
- The situation with the public health facilities on the island is dramatic. Now the paediatrician has returned (she was absent due to raising a child, and has not been replaced while she was away), while basic specialties (orthopaedic surgeon, anaesthesiologist, etc.) are missing.
- Sports facilities of the Municipality (municipal gym) exist only in the southern part of the island (Manitochori), so residents are forced to make long journeys to do some activities with their children. Even the playgrounds in the northern part of the island are in poor condition.
- The road network on the island is dangerous, a problem exacerbated by the lack of lighting.
- There is no internal transport on the island except for taxis. And at some times there are no taxis either, as they are used to transport students.
- There is also a problem with the travel by boat, since sometimes one route is operating and sometimes the other due to the necessary maintenance of the ships.
- The ferry companies do not offer a discount on the transport of teachers.
- There is a permanent water problem on the island. All too often there are interruptions in water supply, especially in summer, with the result that some settlements end up without water for days or even weeks. As a result, the vast majority of residents (and therefore teachers living on the island) are forced to buy bottled water.
Some of the immediate solutions needed for the above problems are:
- All the necessary recruitment of teachers should be done now, in order to fill all the vacancies in secondary schools.
- It is necessary to ‘break’ the bus routes for the two schools, so that students can be accommodated and do not have to wait.
- All the necessary recruitments should be made in the primary schools, so that the all-day schools can be opened immediately.
- The request for the granting of the living allowance for substitute and newly appointed teachers is overdue, so that their stay on the island is not ‘’prohibitive’’.
- All the necessary permanent recruitments in the public health structures of the island must be made now.
- To give a discount from the ferry companies for the transport of teachers.
In addition, there must be immediate planning to solve the other chronic problems on the island (water, lighting, roads, municipal public transport, sports and leisure facilities, etc.).
In the meeting with the Deputy Mayor, we raised some of the problems raised by our colleagues and parents, while we asked the Municipality to consider the possibility of granting the living allowance to teachers. We conveyed that parents are also oriented to request this from the Municipality, recognizing the difficulties of teachers. He pledged to look into this possibility and requested information from the ELME. For our part, we stressed our desire to attend a live meeting of the City Council, on the issue of the living allowance. We also stressed that we will stand by the residents of Kythera in all their struggles for all their problems.
The struggles of our colleagues are an important legacy for the future. The delegation of the Board of Directors of the ELME of Piraeus pledged that they will make every effort to visit the island again in the near future, in order to see the next steps, not only for the proper functioning of the two schools but also for the problems of the island as a whole.
ELME PIRAEUS
Mavromichali 14, (3rd High School - 1st floor)
Tel: 2104124810 - Fax: 2103000423
e-mail: elmepeir@yahoo.gr; elmepeiraia@sch.gr
https://elmepeiraia.oo.gd/w1/
