School students in Cyprus staged a class boycott over poor infrastructure

Secondary and high school students in Cyprus held a two-hour boycott of lessons today — during the third and fourth periods — protesting against the unsatisfactory state of school infrastructure. The main reasons for discontent were malfunctioning air conditioners, frequent power outages, and a general sense of inaction from the Ministry of Education.

The organizer of the protest was the Pan-Cypriot Coordinating Committee of Students (ΠΣΕΜ). In their statement, representatives of the committee stressed that if the situation does not change soon, protest actions will continue and intensify.

The Minister of Education, Athena Michaelidou, after meeting with ΠΣΕΜ representatives, stated on social media that the government and her ministry are already working to resolve the issues. According to her, the installation of air conditioners and the modernization of school buildings are a priority, as they directly affect not only the quality of the educational process but also the daily conditions of students’ lives.

The students themselves, in a letter to the minister, said they were “suffocating” in classrooms and could no longer tolerate the situation. They recalled that even before the start of the school year, assurances were given that schools were fully ready and all necessary preparation work was completed. However, in their words, the reality turned out to be “tragic at the very least”: malfunctions persist, and the promises of the authorities do not match reality.

Students paid special attention to electricity supply disruptions, which they said occur in many schools despite assurances of stable power.

The students emphasized that if the authorities do not take concrete steps soon, they are ready for new protests, including larger-scale class boycotts.