Promises to equip Cyprus' schools with air conditioning and deliver all required textbooks continue to be clouded by changing timelines, with conflicting assessments presented to the House Education Committee raising fresh questions about when long-awaited improvements will finally materialise.
The debate unfolded as secondary school students staged a classroom walkout on Wednesday, demanding faster action on school infrastructure and learning conditions.
Just two days after President Nikos Christodoulides reiterated a commitment to install air conditioning in all schools by the end of his term, officials appearing before the committee offered sharply different views on when the project would actually be completed.
The latest target differs from the President's original pledge in September 2023, when he said all schools would be equipped with air conditioning within three years, effectively setting 2026 as the deadline.
Conflicting forecasts on air conditioning
Deputy Director of Secondary Education Georgios Koutsidis told MPs he expects the programme to be completed during the current school year.
He attributed delays to energy upgrades, limited electrical capacity and the need to modernise ageing electrical infrastructure in many schools.
A different picture was presented by Nicos Megalemou, chairman of the Nicosia School Board.
Megalemou argued that completion in either 2026 or 2027 is unrealistic, noting that schools requiring electricity substations face waiting periods of at least 18 months for those installations alone.
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus said that of the 219 inspection requests it received from schools over the past two years, 142 have been processed while 77 remain pending.
Teachers' organisations and parents' groups told the committee that despite progress in some schools, thousands of students continue to attend classes in high temperatures.
The OLTEK teachers' union cited the Agios Lazaros Technical School as an example, saying 20 air-conditioning units were requested, 12 were approved and only four were ultimately installed.
Textbook delays extend into new school year
The committee also examined delays affecting the delivery of school textbooks.
A number of primary schools are still without books for core subjects, while secondary schools have yet to receive English-language textbooks.
As a temporary measure, schools were instructed to use printed copies of the first three chapters until the full textbooks arrive, currently expected around the middle of October.
Although the Education Ministry said 80% of the temporary material had already been distributed, the POED primary teachers' union said many of the island's more than 300 primary schools had not received the material.
At secondary level, both OELMEK and the Pancyprian Coordinating Committee of Students (PSEM) stressed the need to avoid any further delays.
Tender process blamed
Education Ministry officials told MPs that tenders had been awarded in March and deliveries were originally expected by mid-July.
However, the process reportedly stalled when no contractor was ultimately secured to carry out the work.
The ministry is now considering printing reserve stock sufficient for two academic years.
The proposal drew questions from MPs, with some asking what would happen if textbooks ordered in advance were subsequently removed from the curriculum.
For students returning to classrooms this September, both air conditioning and textbooks remain caught between planning and delivery, with firm completion dates still elusive.
