The statement says the shortages are producing ‘classes without teachers, full-day schools that are under-functioning or closed, absent specialist teachers, and integration departments that exist only on paper’. It adds there are ‘serious shortages’ of parallel support staff for pupils with learning difficulties or additional educational needs.
PASOK accused the ministry of negligence and poor planning and called on the education minister to accept political responsibility. ‘Will the minister explain to students, parents and teachers why the notorious “command state” proved incapable of planning and implementing in a timely manner actions that are absolutely necessary for the smooth functioning of education?’ the party asked.
The statement rejected the government’s apparent acceptance of recurring gaps as inevitable and urged decisive, immediate measures to prevent the problem becoming endemic. PASOK said it had already submitted detailed proposals to resolve the shortages and called on the ministry to abandon ‘amateurisms’ and adopt those proposals without delay.
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