Parents of students at the new Apostolos Loukas Special School in Limassol expressed concerns on Friday about unfinished construction as the first day of school approaches.
According to the parents’ association, students are expected to return to class on Monday, but ongoing construction could jeopardise their children’s educational experience.
The education ministry has attempted to reassure parents that there is no risk to health and safety of the students.
However, the association’s president, Michalis Papadopoulos, said more than 100 children will be returning to a school that is still a construction site on the exterior. He noted that although the ministry’s technical services visited the site on Monday, they granted the contractor more time before officially taking over the school.
Construction on the new school, which began 18 months ago, is still incomplete. Papadopoulos pointed out that the landscaping is unfinished, leaving no outdoor spaces for the children. “They will have to stay in the classrooms, which is the biggest problem,” he said. He also raised concerns about the impact of noise from ongoing work, which could disturb children with sensory issues.
The parents’ association criticised the ministry’s scheduling, claiming they were informed at the last minute that the building was not ready. Papadopoulos said some work has been done, but no alternative plan has been provided to allow the children access to outdoor areas, as the old school has already been demolished.
The head of the education technical services, Andreas Marangos said that the school had been handed over for operation on Thursday expressing disappointment in the parents’ stance. He emphasised that there is no risk to the students’ health and safety.
“We handed over the school yesterday with the consent of the parents,” he said, adding that the school is an ornament “for which some people are trying to find fault with”, indicating that landscaping is not an obligation of the contractor and will be done on a planning basis without affecting the attendance of the children.
Marangos also questioned the parents’ concerns about noise, noting that no issues arose during the last school year when construction was ongoing next to the old building. He rejected claims that there was no alternative plan, stating that the old school was offered as a temporary option, but the parents declined.
Marangos assured that work on the school would continue over the weekend so that it would be ready to welcome children on Monday and announced a joint visit with Education Minister Athena Michaelidou next Friday.
What has been done was done in consultation with all stakeholders, he continued, and is Phase A of works, as Phase B, which involves the new facilities of the neighbouring Red Cross Special School for sick children, will begin immediately afterwards, with the total cost amounting to around €13 million.
Expressing frustration, he concluded with a quote from Ernest Hemingway: “Critics are men who watch a battle from a high place then come down and shoot the survivors.”
