Pledge to fix crumbling schools
The government will spend at least €500 million on refurbishing more than 4,000 schools whose infrastructure is crumbling.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the program in his speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair Saturday, without going into budget specifics on the project. But he did mention visiting schools and being dismayed at crumbling sports facilities.
More than sports facilities need an upgrade. There are also toilets that don’t work, plaster often falls from the ceiling, naked electrical wires are abundant, and some buildings have been deemed unusable following earthquakes.
Curiously, officials say that, despite their often dire state, schools are among the best-maintained public buildings because parents keep the pressure on.
Earthquake inspections will be a significant part of the program: Nearly six in 10 school buildings were built before 1985, when a new building code boosted earthquake safety rules. Just 6% of schools have been built post-2000.
“Some schools do not even have a building permit,” an official told Kathimerini. “We are searching still for construction blueprints.”
