More staff to be hired to spot learning disorders

The Education Ministry plans to bolster procedures for diagnosing learning disorders in children. The aim, Kathimerini understands, is to bring in more permanent staff to the country’s Diagnostic, Assessment, Counseling and Support Centers (KEDASY) for people with special education needs instead of temps who are hired to fill gaps.

The general rationale of the ministry is to diagnose children’s physical, mental, psychological, needs and disorders faster, as the earlier a disorder is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat.

Meanwhile, there is an annual lack of skilled teachers to assist children in school-parallel support, as it is known. There are already roughly 20,000 requests from parents, but only about 13,000 relevant teachers.

As a result, one teacher may take on up to three children. In reality, one-third of all teacher recruitment is for specializations in parallel assistance.