The Struggle for Survival: Village Schools in Limassol Face Uncertain Futures
In the hills of Limassol, the village school has long been a cornerstone of community life. However, declining student numbers and concerns sparked by recent wildfires have raised serious questions about the future of these schools. In Ayios Amvrosios, the local primary school, which had only eight students last year, will not reopen when the new school year begins. As a result, students will now be sent to a nearby school in Kyvides.
“We used to have just one primary school,” said Stelios Gregoriou, a community leader. “It had eight students last year. Now it has closed, and the pupils are being transferred to Kyvides.”
Although the recent wildfire in Limassol affected parts of the area, Gregoriou confirmed that the school building itself was not damaged. “The infrastructure wasn’t harmed,” he told the Sunday Mail. “But the fire still shook the families.”
Gregoriou is now hopeful that a new kindergarten could help retain young residents in the village. He mentioned having a meeting with an education officer and is waiting for the opening of a kindergarten that will accept children aged three to five.
Giorgos Yiallourides, the first education officer from Paphos, explained that the future of village schools in Cyprus is shaped by demographic and social changes. “The maintenance of schools in villages is an important issue, especially when considering low birth rates, internal migration, and demographic shifts,” he said.
He added that decisions regarding whether schools remain open are not made solely by the ministry. “Any decision to continue operating schools is the responsibility of the cabinet,” he said. Yiallourides noted that measures agreed upon by the cabinet include merging schools or transferring students to nearby institutions for reasons of economy, sustainability, and strengthening infrastructure and technological support in remote areas.
At a meeting on April 24, the cabinet decided to suspend Ayios Amvrosios primary school. “Its consolidation with the Pano Kivides primary school will begin in the school year 2025-2026,” Yiallourides said. However, some small schools with fewer than 15 students will continue under special arrangements.
These include the primary school and kindergarten in Kambos, the primary school and kindergarten in Kormakitis, the Ayios Ioannis Nicosia kindergarten, the Ayia Marina Xyliatou kindergarten, the Moutoullas kindergarten, and those in Orounta, Farmakas, Potamia, and Pano Platres. These decisions were based on factors such as geographical isolation, lack of alternative school options, and socio-economic needs of the communities.
Under Cyprus’ 1993 education law, the cabinet can provide free transportation for students living far from the school headquarters or pay a special allowance. Andreas, a father of a six-year-old girl in Ayios Amvrosios, said they are seriously considering relocating. “We don’t want our daughter traveling long hours for school,” he said. “After the fire and with the school’s uncertain future, we’ve started looking at options in town.”
Mattheos Protopapas, a community leader in Vouni, said their primary school had already closed due to a lack of students many years ago. Children from the village are now bused to Limassol daily. “There are so few school-aged children left in the village,” he said. “If services like schools aren’t there, it’s hard to keep families.”
The recent devastating fire has also raised concerns about the lack of authority to enforce fire prevention measures on private land. Protopapas said they can only clean within designated areas and cannot enter privately owned plots, even when they’re overgrown. This legal gap, he warned, is fueling fear among families who feel exposed.
“Our house wasn’t burned, but the fire came so close,” said Maria, a Romanian mother of two. “The children were shaken. It has made us think seriously about leaving, maybe back to Romania if the school shuts, or at least to Limassol, where we wouldn’t feel so isolated.”
Yiallourides addressed families affected by the fires. “In no case of the cases of the fire victims that have been investigated has there been any intention to leave the school they were attending,” he said. He explained that one family whose house was destroyed chose to stay, expressing a desire to continue the children’s education at the Sounio-Zanakia primary school and the Kivides kindergarten.
In Souni-Zanakia, local leader Nikos Vikis confirmed that while their schools were untouched by the fire, the psychological impact has been deep. “We used the school as a distribution centre during the fire,” he said. “The building was fine, but the people, especially the children, are shaken.”
Vikis, who is also head of the local school board, said psychological support was arranged for families. He also mentioned that the fire came on top of long-standing problems with early education services. “We’ve submitted requests to the ministry and the district administration for a kindergarten and school,” he said. “We’re waiting for answers. We already have 52 children who need a place, but we still don’t have a kindergarten.”
Parents there say they’ve been left with no support, despite growing numbers of young families. “My son turned four last month,” said Eleni, a mother living in Souni-Zanakia. “There’s no place for him to go. If we don’t get a kindergarten soon, we’ll probably move to another town.”
On the creation of kindergartens, Yiallourides stressed their importance for rural areas. “The establishment of community kindergartens is an important measure to support small communities that either do not have public kindergartens or cannot enrol in them, due to age group,” he said. These kindergartens are set up under the Private Schools Law of 2019.
“In the majority of them, community kindergartens are co-located with public kindergartens,” he said. In Lofou, Ioannis Neophytou, president of the community council, confirmed that all children from the village now attend schools elsewhere. “There are no pupils here anymore. The last families with young children have either left or sent them outside the village every day.”
For community leaders, the message is clear: without schools, villages will vanish. “These schools are the glue that holds small villages together,” said Gregoriou. “If we lose them, we lose the families, and with them, the future.”
