Рrimary education pupils will go back to school around two weeks earlier in September than usual to cover for the teaching time lost due to the coronavirus pandemic, Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou said on Wednesday.

Briefing the House education committee, Prodromou said that teachers will go back to work on September 1 instead of the seventh of the month while pupils will return to school on the third or fourth of September instead of the middle of the month.

The move, he said, is aimed at “securing about 10 teaching days, which will be dedicated to mitigating the loss of teaching time during this school year.”

The minister said they would be focusing on filling gaps in all grades but most importantly the pupils who left pre-school and will go to the first grade, which “is a critical transition”.

If necessary, distance learning will be available for the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, he said.

Prodromou also said that his ministry has made a proposal for talks over a change in the school operating hours, but this will not affect teaching time.