‘All-day’ primary schools may be sacrificed by gov’t

The government is considering scrapping primary schools with late closing hours as part of its efforts to save money to cover teacher shortages, Kathimerini understands.

The so-called “all-day” primary schools start at 8.10 a.m. and allow pupils to stay and engage in various activities in the afternoon if their parents cannot pick them up. State primary schools that offer this extended program now account for 58 percent of pupils, or around 340,000 in absolute figures.

However, the government is mulling the option of reverting to normal hours at these schools in order to be able to hire some of the teachers needed to cover an estimated 24,000 shortfall in primary education.