‘Close special needs schools’
SCHOOLS for special needs children – the only ones now open due to the Covid-19 pandemic – should also be closed to protect pupils, teachers and parents, the Cyprus Turkish Teachers’ Union (Ktös) has demanded.
Union members gathered outside the Ministry of Health in Lefkoşa on Monday when a statement was read out saying: “Health and security measures are insufficient and continuing face-to-face and one-toone education is not possible under existing circumstances.”
A report detailing measures to combat Covid-19 in schools was prepared by the union and handed in at the ministry with a request that it be forwarded to the Communicable Diseases High Committee, which advises the government on pandemicrelated issues.
Ktös secretary-general Şener Elcil said that two pupils at Çatalköy Primary School had tested positive for Covid-19 the previous week but that no such tests had been offered to teachers or other staff there.
“It is getting out of control, healthcare workers cannot deal with all the cases and those that infected people have come into contact with,” he said.
“Education was largely suspended due to our initiative and the current situation shows that we were right.
“Only special needs schools are now open because they offer the necessary oneto-one education . . . but that is dangerous to pupils, teachers, parents and families, which is an unavoidable fact, so they should also be closed.”
The union’s education secretary, Burak Maviş, said: “Ideally, the education of children with special needs should not be interrupted, and face-to-face lessons are essential for them. However, their schools ought to be closed to protect those involved and the general public. Education in such schools should be suspended until at least October 1, or until Covid-19 is under control.”
In response National Education and Culture Minister Nazım Çavusoğlu said that schools for children with special needs would only be closed if such action was recommended by the Communicable Diseases High Committee.