“The priority of the Ministry of Education is for the children of the affected areas to return quickly and safely to their lives and to their physical space, which is the school” emphasizes Kyriakos Pierrakakis in his message for the start of the school year, which, as he notes, “is taking place in the shadow of the unprecedented disaster in Thessaly”.

According to the Minister of Education, priority is also given to the students from Rhodes, Thrace, Attica who were in the midst of large fires. “We have worked and continue to work, together with all the co-competent agencies, so that the school units become fully functional and constitute the important pole of progress, creativity and overcoming difficulties. No difficulty is insurmountable. And the Ministry of Education is here to always stand by the side of the students, the parents and of course the teachers” he emphasizes.

Mr. Pierrakakis also refers to the effort to modernize school infrastructure and explains that “starting with the areas affected by fires and floods, by February 2024 more than 36,000 interactive whiteboards will be installed in all classrooms, who can enrich the lesson, make it more lively and interesting. The interactive whiteboards will be linked to the curricula of all subjects and subject areas, but I want to emphasize that it is expected, within their use, that a special emphasis will be placed on the arts.

Of course, we are working to make the school fully digital with applications that will simplify the daily lives of students, teachers and parents”.

He emphasizes that the initiatives that will be developed for a new, multi-level school, will be broader – and multiple during the school year. “We will work to intensify volunteerism, environmental protection and the culture of crisis and natural disaster management in schools. And of course, our goal is for children to learn more about climate change.

For us, school is much more than the knowledge and learning it offers. It is a space for thinking, freedom, socialization, personality development. It is a place where one learns respect for the other, without any discrimination.”

“I will be and we will all be by your side in this new step you are taking today, entering the school halls. You will find us allies in all your endeavors and willing to answer together with our teachers to all your anxieties.

The Ministry’s doors are always open to each and every one of you, for any issue we can help solve.

Happy school year to all of us with health, creativity and progress!” Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis concludes in his message.

See the message of the Minister of Education: