Ministry seeking to defuse tension over school sit-ins

The Education Ministry is calling for talks with the organizers of dozens of school sit-ins all over the country, seeking to defuse mounting tension over coronavirus measures even as pupils are contemplating more protest rallies this week.

According to the central Students’ Coordination Committee, there were more than 700 active sit-in protests in Greece Monday. The ministry says the number appears excessive, though an exact figure was not available.

Ministry sources suggested that the protest movement is being fomented by left-wing activists, but were unable to comment on the way forward. “The situation is fluid,” they told Kathimerini, adding that authorities hope the movement will run out of steam.

Also Monday, though, police were called to a high school in Kalamata in southern Greece, after pupils holding a sit-in attacked teachers and parents trying to enter the grounds.