Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou said on Friday that the government is currently strengthening Greek language teaching in primary and secondary schools for foreign children here.
Prodromou said the increased number of pupils for whom Greek is not their first language has led the education ministry to expand the programme.
“There are over 4,000 foreign students in primary and secondary schools in Cyprus,” he said. “It’s a very significant number and it’s constantly growing.
“The government is concerned that some children might be left behind if proper steps are not taken to ensure their complete integration.
“For both pedagogical and social reasons, children need to familiarise with the Greek language, it is their educational right and also the entire school system will benefit from it,” Prodromou said.
He then explained what the specific changes in the programme will be. First, schools will be more efficient in assessing the children’s progress in learning Greek.
Secondly, children will have the possibility of taking part in transitionary classes, so that their initial level of competence will be properly assessed.
Moreover, Prodromou said that, in order to cope with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Greek language classes will be also available online.
Source: Cyprus Mail
