Almost private tuition
The schoolrooms at the junior high school of Leipsoi or the senior high schools of Simi and Anafi look as if practically the whole class had decided to play hooky. In some classes on remote Greek islands, especially in the third year of senior high, there is one teacher to every two or three pupils. The number of new teachers is growing, as more appointments are made to small islands, and pupil numbers are falling as islanders move to larger islands or to cities. At the Simi Technical School, for instance, 45 pupils have 20 teachers, while at the junior high school of Leipsoi, which also has some senior high classes, there are 20 teachers for 35 pupils. At the Combined Junior-Senior High of Anafi the ratio is 12 teachers to 21 pupils. Of the elementary schools in the Cyclades, 19 are one-teacher schools, 15 have two teachers, and eight have three teachers. the situation is similar in the Dodecanese, where there are 13 one-teacher schools, 17 two-teacher schools and only eight three-teacher schools. There is no question of gaps in the pupils’ education on small, remote islands, with such an overabundance of teachers in most primary and secondary schools. By contrast, there is a shortage of teachers at schools in Attica, where posts are filled by staff awaiting transfers from outlying areas. Most new teachers go to small or distant islands to complete the mandatory period – now two years, formerly three – during which they build up entitlement points for an eventual transfer to the location of their choice or as near to it as possible. Advantage The main advantage of the high teacher-pupil ratio, as teachers themselves told Kathimerini, is that the classes are conducted along the lines of individual tuition. The process is also easier for teachers who have been appointed to their first posts, allowing them more time for study and lesson preparation. Most new appointees are between 25-35, and keen to work. Though tiny classes mean a lack of rivalry, pupils do well, with a large percentage gaining university entrance. The Combined Technical School and Senior High of Amorgos regularly sees 90-100 percent of its pupils do well in the Panhellenic exams. «Nearly all the children gain places at universities or technical colleges,» the school’s headmaster, Nikitas Theologitis, told Kathimerini. Of around 35 pupils at the Combined Technical School and Senior High of Simi, 10 gained university or technical college places, despite the other attractions of jobs in tourism which attract other young people. As for the schools themselves, there are two contrasting images. One goes back to the past, with dilapidated and even dangerous buildings with roofs about to cave in; while the other is more hopeful, with attractive, modern buildings and functional, well-equipped classrooms where pupils have access to new technologies. The infrastructure looks grim at Amorgos Combined High and Technical School. The building, which dates from 1829 except for some additions and alterations made in 1979, clearly does not meet present-day requirements. «We don’t have have the classrooms we need,» said Theologitis. «We have to rent space from the hotel opposite for some lessons, and our secretary’s office doesn’t even have a computer.» How well do teachers who have grown up in the city adjust to a small island? It’s easy in the first year, teachers say. There’s the pleasure of having been appointed and the discovery of a new way of life that is calmer and less stressful. The second year is harder. Teachers become more aware of their isolation and the locals’ disapproval of any but strictly conventional behavior. The third year is when they start thinking about the longed-for transfer and departure.
