Repeated school bus cancellations in the Larnaca district are leaving pupils unable to attend classes, prompting parents to demand immediate intervention from the authorities.
The Federation of Parents and Guardians Associations of Secondary Education of Larnaca says the disruption has affected hundreds of pupils and their families since the beginning of the school year.
It argues that pupils should not be deprived of safe and uninterrupted transport to and from school, particularly when services are suspended because of misconduct attributed to a small number of passengers.
50 pupils affected on Anaphotia-Alethriko route
Speaking to SigmaLive, federation president Costas Costa said Cyprus Public Transport, which operates school routes in the Larnaca district, has been cancelling scheduled services, in some cases leaving pupils without transport to school for days.
Costa said the problems are mainly affecting the Anaphotia-Alethriko route, with 50 children affected in total. Pupils from Anaphotia did not attend school on Thursday because of the disruption, he said.
He argued that the small number of pupils responsible for causing problems and damaging buses could be identified by police, but said this had not yet been achieved.
“They find 300 kilos of drugs and they can’t find five pupils. Are we even a state?” Costa said.
Parents themselves have also boarded school buses in an effort to identify the pupils responsible for causing damage, he added.
Federation demands permanent solution
In a statement dated 16 September, the federation said repeated cancellations of Larnaca school buses had created serious problems since the beginning of the school year, without a permanent solution being found.
It called on the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works to immediately assume responsibility for the situation and intervene effectively to ensure that all agreed school routes operate safely.
The federation is demanding the immediate restoration of all routes and a permanent solution to the problem.
It warned that if the situation continues, organised parents will respond in an “intense and dynamic” manner, with the aim of protecting all pupils’ right to safe and uninterrupted transport to and from school.
Federation statement
Translation: PRESS RELEASE
Strong protest over the cancellation of school bus routes in the Larnaca district
The Federation of Parents and Guardians Associations of Secondary Education of Larnaca strongly condemns the unacceptable manner in which Cyprus Public Transport, which operates school bus routes in the Larnaca district, is proceeding with the cancellation of scheduled routes, resulting in pupils being left without access to their schools for days.
We consider it unacceptable and unjustified for pupils to be deprived of their right to safe and uninterrupted transport to and from school, particularly when the service attributes the cancellation of routes to individual incidents of inappropriate behaviour. Any misconduct by certain pupils, which organised parents condemn entirely, must be dealt with and resolved effectively through cooperation with the police and must not serve as an excuse for cancelling routes and victimising pupils who bear no responsibility.
Since the beginning of the school year, repeated problems have arisen and not all agreed routes have been operating, causing serious inconvenience to hundreds of pupils and their families. Particular concern is caused by the fact that, despite repeated protests, no permanent solution has yet been found, while the Federation has already been informed that a specific school route in the Alethriko area will not operate tomorrow.
We call on the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works to immediately assume its responsibilities and intervene decisively, so as to ensure that all agreed school routes operate safely. It is unacceptable for the right of pupils to transport to and from their schools to be called into question or violated without the immediate and effective intervention of the competent authorities.
We demand the immediate restoration of all routes and the adoption of a permanent solution so that similar incidents are not repeated. In any other case, the response of organised parents will be strong and dynamic, with the aim of protecting the right of all pupils in the city and district of Larnaca to safe and uninterrupted transport to and from their schools.
We stand by the Federation’s decision to be present tomorrow in the Alethriko area in solidarity with the pupils.
Costas Costa
President
Polina Christodoulou
Secretary
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