Test runs for e-schools in three Greek regions

Schools in Achaia and Ileia in the western Peloponnese as well as on the Ionian island of Zakynthos became the first in the country yesterday to start trying out a new online teaching system so that pupils sequestered at home due to the coronavirus outbreak don’t miss lessons.

“The aim is not only to cover the curriculum, but also to ensure that students don’t lose touch with the educational process,” the Education Ministry said yesterday, announcing the launch of the scheme.

The ministry’s plan is twopronged and comprises teachers doing lessons via live streaming, while also sending study material to their students, along with assignment charts and timetables, through special platforms and websites provided by the ministry.

Yesterday’s launch was of a technical nature, as the educators who will be testing the system were briefed on how it works and what is expected of them. Online classes will be starting later in the week with the three regions’ high school seniors.

It will then be expanded to cover every level of primary and secondary education across the country, putting the emphasis on seniors who are due to sit university entrance exams at the end of the academic year and have already missed several days of classes due to the shutdown of the education system.

Achaia, Ileia and Zakynthos were chosen to start the program because they were the first regions in Greece affected by the coronavirus outbreak in late February.