“The teacher will be relieved of his duties until the NDE that has already been ordered is finished,” said Deputy Minister of Education Zetta Makri, asked about the teacher accused of molesting his 14-year-old student.

It may be recalled that criminal charges have already been filed against the 52-year-old man who was arrested following a complaint by the parents of the minor girl. The parents denounced him when they noticed the exchange of messages and immediately mobilized by reporting the incident to the 10201 line of the Sub-Division for the Protection of Minors.

Reports of bullying

The platform for reporting incidents of bullying in schools seems to be gaining more and more confidence, as 600 complaints have already been registered. The fact, however, that half of them are related to primary school pupils raises serious concerns, said Zetta Makri, deputy minister of education. In any case, in a total population of about 1.2 million pupils, the number of complaints is not considered high.

Mobile phone expulsions

As many as 16,000 suspensions were given to students for using a mobile phone within the school premises, with the law so far being strictly adhered to.

As Makri stressed, the suspensions are proportional to the severity of the offence and escalate from one day to several days.

Highlighting the importance of banning the use of mobile phones in schools, she said that there has been a decrease in cases of publicizing bullying incidents on social media.

Regarding the damage caused by students in schools, the Deputy Minister of Education recalled that the damage will now be attributed to their parents.

About the teacher charged with molesting a student

Regarding the teacher charged with sexual acts on a 14-year-old student, who has been charged with felony charges of child abuse, Ms. Makri advised that he has already been removed from office, and following the prosecution, he is to be placed on leave.

About the International Baccalaureate

On the introduction of the International Baccalaureate (IB), Zetta Makri recalled that it will be piloted from September 2026 in five Standard High Schools out of the 21 currently operating for students of the Secondary School, according to a decision of the Ministry of Education. As he explained, the programme will be optional and will run in parallel with the current system of general and vocational high schools, which leads to the Panhellenic examinations for the admission of students to higher education.