Portacabins as classrooms ‘cannot be our destiny’

Concerns were raised on Tuesday over the continued use of portacabins as makeshift classrooms in the north’s schools.

Cyprus Turkish teachers’ trade union (Ktos) leader Burak Mavis insisted after a visit to some schools which are undergoing renovations ahead of the next academic year that “portacabin classrooms cannot be our destiny.

“Portacabins have ceased to be a means to an end and have been turned into an end goal. They have even been placed in schools where the buildings are structurally sound but that are overcrowded,” he said.

Portacabins were introduced at schools across the north after a round of inspections following two deadly earthquakes in Turkey last year found a number of school buildings to be unsafe.

However, Mavis said on Tuesday that patience was running out with the ‘government’ over the continued use of temporary structures.

He said that instead of portacabins, schools should erect buildings made of steel or reinforced concrete and called on the Cyprus Turkish chambers of engineers and architects (KTMMOB) to take such plans forward.

Additionally, he said the north’s earthquake committee had not yet received earthquake safety reports regarding a total of 66 schools, while 58 schools’ cases have now been discussed.

He added that of those 58 schools, some which required renovations have now had their renovations completed, while others are ongoing.

With this in mind, he said ongoing renovations would be delayed during the academic year while children are in schools and warned that there may therefore be a shortage of portacabins at schools where buildings have been closed.

Some schools were initially moved to temporary buildings following last year’s earthquakes.

A protocol was signed by the ‘education ministry’ and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of civil engineers (IMO) to inspect and examine school buildings, with a number of them declared unsafe. A total of nine schools were then declared “heavily damaged” by the IMO, while others also required renovations and reinforcements.

However, teachers have since become frustrated with the perceived slow pace of renovations, among other issues, and held a protest outside the ‘education ministry’ building.

Even after inspections took place, the ceiling of the canteen at a school in Famagusta collapsed during the February school holidays this year, sparking further concerns among parents and teachers.

The new school year in the north is set to begin on September 16.