Galery

1

Increasingly the problem of shortage of textbooks in schools grows, about which Education Minister Anna Diamandopoulou will be interviewed next week.

After the long delay in publishing the textbooks - the tender was canceled by the National Audit Office - the agreement will be signed tomorrow morning. The contract will be signed with three companies for the purchase of paper that will be used for the printing of textbooks, worth nearly 10 million euro.

Ministry of Education informed on Thursday evening the schools, students and teachers that the textbooks would not be ready until the beginning of the academic year and that the course material will be distributed in photocopies and DVDs. Printing of the textbooks is not expected to be completed before November.

Photocopies and DVD

In this way the Ministry of Education was forced to upload on the internet the entire training materials, while students in the early days of the new school year will be distributed photocopies and DVDs.

As previously announced by the Company for publishing school literature, for the "rhythmic activity in schools and in order to overcome in the best possible way, the delay in sending educational materials, the Ministry of Education has taken the following actions:

• Uploading all textbooks for secondary education, on the platform "Digital School" at:

http://digitalschool.minedu.gov.gr/.  

Headmasters and teachers from the different schools will have access and will be able to use the relevant teaching materials in any appropriate for themselves and their students way.

In addition, the Ministry of Education will give all students a DVD, which will contain all the textbooks in order for the students to have the opportunity to learn lessons electronically."

In any case, the printing of textbooks is not expected to be completed before November.

According to information, the textbooks, printed in different regions of the country do not exceed ... 10%. Several days before the beginning of the school year, according to data of the Company for publishing school literature, in Athens, Thessaloniki and Evia no textbooks have been distributed, in Boeotia were sent only 10% of the required textbooks, in Evritaniya - 4%. In the Peloponnese and the islands were sent from 70% to 90% of the textbooks.

Thus, out of 183 titles for the elementary school, only 15 are ready. In the high schools out of 178 titles only 5are ready! In post-secondary course out of 207 titles 13 are ready. Finally, in the technical schools out of 419 titles only 26 are finished.

Notes:

This question seems to be becoming a problem for the leadership of the Ministry of Education, and on Thursday evening were circulated rumors about the resignation of Secretary of the Ministry Vassilis Koulaydis. He himself, however, stated in an interview with newspaper "Vima" that "there is no reason to resign and that he has not even been responsible for the issue of textbooks this year."

In the problem of publishing textbooks have been involved four ministries: of the Education, Economy, Development and the Presidency, which seems to have failed to coordinate their activities. Since last October the Company for publishing school literature had announced a tender for the purchase of paper, but it seems that the problems in the procedure and problems identified by the National Audit Office ultimately led to this situation.