Cyprus primary school pupils to start the year without textbooks: books to arrive by mid-October

Cyprus primary school pupils will begin the school year without printed textbooks: the books will not be delivered in full until mid-October, and until then they will have to study using photocopies and digital materials. This was stated by Miria Vasileiou, president of the Cyprus Primary School Teachers’ Organisation (POED).

The delay affects textbooks for mathematics, science and technology, history, geography, design and technology, digital technologies and religious education. Primary schools and kindergartens in Cyprus open on 14 September, meaning that the first weeks of classes will take place without books.

“A delay of an entire month cannot be regarded as a simple technical difficulty. It confirms that pupils and teachers are once again having to fill the gaps left by the state with improvised solutions,” Vasileiou said. She described it as unacceptable that, in the age of technology, children are starting the school year with photocopies.

The union notes that the mass copying of materials means additional costs and contradicts what schools teach children about the environment.

The Ministry of Education instructed teachers to continue lessons using the available printed and digital materials and to use photocopying sparingly. The ministry emphasises that the measures are temporary and that the curriculum is being implemented as usual until the textbooks arrive.