Parents and teachers have carried out dozens of protests and mobilizations, however the Municipality of Pylaia-Hortiatis and the Ministry of Education are indifferent
Fifteen years have passed since the 2nd Special Vocational Education and Training Workshop (2nd EEEEK) and the Special Primary School of Pylaia were installed in a completely unsuitable building in Eastern Thessaloniki. Parents and teachers have carried out dozens of protests and mobilizations, however the Municipality of Pylaia-Hortiatis and the Ministry of Education are indifferent. The parents have filed three lawsuits with the prosecutor, but there has been no progress, despite the fact that the school has been without a certificate of suitability for 10 years.
The two school structures are housed on the first floor of an industrial building, on the ground floor of which there is a warehouse managed by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, and on the second floor of the building there is a craft workshop. There is no school yard and so children with disabilities are asked to play on a veranda, which in the past has been deemed dangerous and unsuitable. It is a case that is timed, but no solution is given. So dozens of children with disabilities find themselves every day in an unsuitable building without an emergency exit, without fire safety and suitability approval.
As the president of the Association of Parents and Guardians of the Special School, Michalis Tsirantonakis, complained to R/S 91.4 To Kokkino Thessaloniki and Ap. Lykesas, “all the authorities have forgotten the issue and are not interested”. “The municipality of Pylaia-Hortiatis and Mr. Kaitezidis state that they cannot find a building and nothing further,” he said, while also blaming the leadership of the Ministry of Education for being indifferent to the major problem. “Every day when the children go to school our hearts tremble, without any exaggeration. If something catches fire, there is no emergency exit in the school. We have appealed to the public prosecutor and our only hope for something to be done is from there,” said M. Tsirantonakis characteristically.
The fact that during last school year it was announced to the parents that a private building had been found in which a school was operating and which was available to house the Special School, makes an impression. A few months later, however, it became known that the Municipality of Thermaikos, within whose boundaries the building was located, withdrew.
Kerameos disclaimed its responsibility
In addition to the lawsuits filed against everyone responsible, the parents have also put pressure on the opposition parties, while the issue has twice come to the Parliament after a question from MPs. However, as M. Tsirantonakis conveys, “the answer of the then Minister of Education Nikis Kerameos was that the role of the ministry is a staff one and that the municipalities are responsible. This was answered in Parliament. The ministry does not care where the children are housed.”
The complete abandonment of public schools for children with disabilities has been the status quo for years. Similar problems are faced by other Special Schools, such as in Kordelio. An additional problem in the already difficult everyday life of children and parents is the fact that since the beginning of the school year, the region and the ministry have not ensured the movement of students with special buses.
