Tutorials: Students in high schools call for immediate opening as the Panhellenic exams approach

The students of the last class of the Lyceum are anxious and worried about the next period, and especially about the preparation for the Panhellenic examinations.

According to teachers« testimonies, returning to the classrooms brought them face to face with children »much changed". Melancholy, frustration and fear set the tone, and there are also cases of pupils whose psychology is at rock bottom because they have lost loved ones to the coronavirus. And all this at a time when everyone now realises that, in addition to the test of the exams, they will have to deal with the new system Minimum Import Base, which seems to be a «carmania», especially for low-achieving students, when it comes to their entry into higher education.

Equally important issue for children, remains the opening of tutorials, which in this period constitute another weapon in the quiver of exam preparation and which, it is considered absolutely necessary to be re-integrated into the live monitoring, in order for students to be psychologically discharged.

Not to apply the Minimum Admission Base in this year's Panhellenic exams

The suspension of the Minimum Base for this year, the government, both the high school teachers and Alexis Tsipras, believe that the suspension should be a priority for the government. The leader of the opposition, who had a meeting with the Board of the OLME, considers that this admission system will leave 25 to 30 thousand candidates out of the university.

«Those who have children see how suffocating the conditions in the psychological field are for children after almost two school years with distance learning and without the possibility of contact with their classmates and face-to-face educational process», underlined the president of the SYRIZA and added: «The children who spent half of last year with distance learning and this year, almost all year, we're putting them in a few days to take national exams, with a vengeful system for them and their families. However, on this request, the Niki Kerameos has not given an answer and seems determined to proceed according to the announced programme for the implementation of the EBE (Minimum Import Base).

What is in force with the opening of the tutorials

The absence of a recommendation from the side of the experts on the opening of the tutorials, invoked by the Minister of Education, Niki Kerameos, and this is the axis on which she has been moving until today. In fact, as she has stated, the groups in schools record a homogeneity, which is not the case in the tutorials, where students from different areas are gathered, which is considered unsafe. However, for his part, the Minister responsible for development Adonis Georgiadis, stated that he would recommend restart of the tutorials.

Kerameos optimistic for the opening of schools with self test

Regarding the reopening of schools through the self-diagnostic test, Ms Kerameos was optimistic. «It is a day of optimism, the children return us to the High schools with increased protection measures. The self–test is a valuable tool that is starting to be used now. We are here to monitor the process step by step, to correct anything that may be needed, we are here for our children, our teachers ours.

All this time that the doors were closed schools our educational process was able to continue thanks to the enormous effort made by our students, their families, teachers and education staff. If we are here today, it is because many factors also contributed, such as the Ministries of Digital Government and Health, the pharmacies and their supply channels, the local government. There was a very large, coordinated effort to ensure that the tests were distributed immediately throughout the country and that they were distributed as a matter of priority to members of the educational community. This whole process had another aspect: the cultivation of individual responsibility in our children,» concluded the Minister of Education.

Ms Kerameos focused on the «allied weather», which now allows flexibility in the design and implementation of lessons, either in the courtyard or in the classroom, with the windows open. She stressed that the inoculation process for teachers is going well and that all of this «helps in returning to school in very small, slow and careful steps».

Final decisions on the promotional examinations will be announced in the near future. As for the Panhellenic examinations, they are scheduled for later in June, but again the announcements will be made in the coming year.