At a hastily-called press conference with The Khronicles, officers and members of The Pano Gouves Parents and Guardians Association discussed what action should be taken concerning the on-going problem of securing a proper grammar school.

Present at the meeting held at Krites Taverna on the old American base were Greta Hirakaki, president, Yeoryia Kastanaki, secretary, Father Mihail Panaousis, member, and Manolis Paterakis, treasurer.

"Past parents' associations have been filing papers with the Iraklion Prefecture requesting a proper school since 2002, and there is still nothing being done," Mrs. Hirakaki said.  "The school went from an eight-position school to a 12-position school because of the increase in students during the last few years. In 2007 there were 187 students and this past year there were 214. The situation has become critical and something must be done before the next school term!"

Mrs. Hirakaki said that in 2002, besides one teachers’ lounge, one principal’s office, six toilets and the courtyard there were just five classrooms and one combination classroom-theatre room for 140 children. The Gouves Demos then formally requested the building of a grammar school in Kato Gouves.

"Instead, in 2006 they received three prefabricated rooms which were set-up in the courtyard of the school in Pano Gouves, two classrooms and a mini teachers’ room," she said. "But even the small teachers’ lounge is used as a classroom now."  

She explained that the school cannot provide a computer room, a library, a gym or a play room for its all-day students, depriving students of a proper, well-rounded education.

"In addition, the children have no area to stage any type of celebratory activities nor can their parents come to observe their children’s progress as there is no room!" she added. "The courtyard where the children go to recess has become a lot smaller since the addition of the prefab classrooms. And since the teachers have no room to call their own, they all use the principal’s office.

In the most recent letter to the prefecture, the association states: "Certainly the morale of the children and the teachers is low as they literally pile into the classrooms, and we feel it is wrong for children to be exposed to such a dysfunctional atmosphere so early in life." The letter requests "an urgent acquisition of a school compound to humanely and adequately house the ever growing number of school-age kids in Gouves." 

Father Panaousis said he has been trying to make a contact with the Prefect regarding their plight but to no avail. He said he was redirected to the Vice Prefect in charge of education, and the Association is still waiting for an appointment.

"Meanwhile, I was told that 15 million Euros was allocated for school housing projects in 2008 for the Iraklion province," he said, "but I heard all the projects were realized in the Iraklion demos only. I’m ready to take all the kids and go to the base and form a human chain. We will pick our spot and refuse to leave until we get the right answer!" 

"And we are not unreasonable," he continued. "They can take five or six years to finish and maybe our kids won’t be going to the new school, but other kids will."

Mr. Paterakis added: "And of course the school must be built keeping in mind that after six years maybe another 100 children will be added because Gouves is a desirable community and is growing rapidly."

The association members agreed that they don’t want any more temporary solutions to the present school, which was built in 1926, since they tend to become permanent, but will always be limited in the temporary fashion. They said they want a new, proper-sized school.

When questioned by this reporter shortly after the press conference at the Krites Taverna, Evangelos Hatzakis, vice mayor in the Gouves demos, said that although schools fall under his jurisdiction that only pertains to the maintenance of the municipality's schools.  

"It's the prefecture which is responsible for decision making and construction of new schools," he explained. "We have the good intentions and we will stand behind the parents association because we also want our children to be in a correct school environment."

Pertaining to this critical situation, Gouves Councilman Mihalis Plevrakis said: that the problem of proper school housing in all of Gouves Demos came up during the last 2008 council meeting in a discussion about the 2009 technical programme and the possibility of purchasing additional prefabricated schoolrooms.

"We did point out that this devalues the quality of education as it allows it to take place under inadequate conditions," he said. "The problem of proper school housing has taken explosive dimensions in our demos as our municipality is one of the fastest growing in student numbers, but it's also one that for many years has not received any state funds for the building of new and contemporary school groupings."