Online lessons hit snag on first day due to app failure
Greece’s virtual classes hit a snag as soon as they restarted Monday, as thousands of middle and high school students experienced problems signing into the online education platform.
Education Ministry sources told Kathimerini that problems were most likely caused by Webex, the video-conferencing app used for the online courses, adding that ministry networks were fully operational.
With middle and high schools in lockdown, it is mandatory for students to participate in remote classes, according to a series of circulars issued by the ministry.
Monday’s breakdown of the system sparked a heated war of words between the government and main opposition SYRIZA, which demanded the resignation of Education Minister Niki Kerameus.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas denounced the leftist party, calling the demand for the resignation of Kerameus a “joke.”
SYRIZA denounced the “audacity” of Petsas, saying its call is perfectly justified given that the ministry had eight months to prepare for a second wave of the pandemic, which everyone “knew was imminent.”
It also denounced the government for not providing students with the necessary technical equipment, forcing families to bear expenses in order to cope with distance learning.
