STRICTER FRAMEWORK FOR SUMMER SCHOOLS AND EMPLOYMENT CENTRES APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT - Filenews 19/3
Two proposals for a law establishing a stricter framework for the operation of summer schools and employment facilities were unanimously voted by the Plenary Session of the Parliament. The aim of the regulations is, according to the content of the proposals, to ensure the health and safety of children, as well as the quality of the services provided.
The first proposal was submitted by Andreas Pasiourtidis, Christos Christofides, Andreas Kafkalias and Christos Christofias on behalf of the AKEL-Left-New Forces parliamentary group.
The proposal amends the Private Schools Law, so that the Ministry of Education can carry out an inspection at least once a year in private schools that expand their operation during the summer months and operate as summer schools by analogy with the existing inspection process, which is carried out for the operation of private schools.
The aim is to strengthen the control exercised by the Ministry of Education over private schools that operate as summer schools, with the aim of ensuring that their operation complies with the criteria provided for in the current legislation, as well as the protection of the children attending them.
The second proposal for a law by Andreas Pasiourtidis on behalf of the AKEL-Left-New Forces parliamentary group amending the Law on Child Protection and Employment Centers, in order to adopt regulations to strengthen the control and inspection mechanisms carried out in the context of the implementation of the existing legislative framework governing the operation of child protection and employment centers, by analogy with corresponding provisions in relevant legislation related to education, employment and entertainment of children.
The provisions of the proposal provide for the strengthening of the provisions that regulate the conduct of inspections in any premises used as a center, in order to clarify the information that the inspector is called upon to check in the context of inspections.
These concern the observance of the conditions for the establishment and operation of the center, on the basis of which it has been registered in the register kept by the director of the Social Welfare Services, the employment of the necessary qualified staff in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations on Child Protection and Employment Centers, any deficiencies in relation to the operation of the center and the measures taken by the owner or the managing person to deal with these deficiencies and the Suitability of the premises and building facilities of the Center in accordance with the provisions of the regulations and the compliance of the Center with the obligations provided.
It is the responsibility of the inspector to draw up a report which includes the findings of the inspection he is carrying out and, in the event that non-compliance with the prescribed obligations is found, the director of the Social Welfare Services communicates the instructions of the report to the owner and the managing person of the center and invites them within a reasonable period of time to comply.
The Director of the Services has the power, in the event that compliance with the instructions of the inspector's report is not achieved, either to suspend the operation of the center, until compliance is achieved, or to decide to cancel its registration.
The offense of non-compliance of the owner and the managing person of the center with the instructions of the inspector's report is established, which is punishable by the penalties provided for in the existing legislative framework, depending on the nature of the suggestion.
In the event that a decision is taken to cancel a registration or to temporarily suspend the operation of a center, the director of the Social Welfare Services ensures that the decision is made public, in order to inform the public through the official website of the Social Welfare Services and through any other means.
Positions of MPs
The rapporteur AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtidis said that the proposal fills a gap that existed in incomplete controls. He added that we want our children during the summer months to be employed in premises in conditions of safety and health, with proper controls and a strict operating framework.
Pavlos Mylonas of DIKO congratulated his colleague, saying that the proposal comes to fill a gap that the state should have taken care of. He also raised the issue of expensive tuition fees for private summer schools, with the result that many people are unable to cope, saying that at least now we take care of the quality of these premises.
From DISY, Giorgos Karoullas said that the safety of children is our obligation and characterized the proposal in the right direction since it sets an operating framework with obligations.
Christiana Erotokritou of DIKO said that quality criteria must be applied horizontally to all activities in Cyprus, especially with regard to our children. He also added that at some point the state will have to deal with the issue of children's employment during the summer months.
CNA
