Just one pupil left at Cyprus’ smallest school

The lone remaining pupil in the village of Kambos and her teacher have earned the distinction of the “smallest school in Cyprus” it was reported on Tuesday.

Nine-year-old Demetra Panayiotou, whose three schoolmates graduated last week, will be starting fourth grade in September.

The school will remain in operation thanks to the intervention of Education Minister Athena Michaelidou so that young Demetra can complete her primary education, community mayor Sotiris Antoniou said.

In an appeal on Alpha TV the mayor asked for pupil delegations from schools around the island to visit the nine-year-old to support her in her plight.

“There are around 400 schools on the island and if even a small team visited her once a week, it would make a difference,” Antoniou said.

The village of Kambos had fought hard to keep its school – a symbol of the chance for regeneration – open, the mayor said, and the initiative could become an example for other remote schools in rural areas.

“Schools must not close… if they do, how will the countryside be repopulated?” the mayor asked.

“Demetroulla will now be the only child in the school but she will have the whole village supporting her to complete her schooling. We will do whatever is needed,” the mayor added.

Demetra’s father, Theophanis Panayiotou said the family was making efforts to take her on visits and keep her involved in activities with other children.

“There are around ten children in the village but the numbers are steadily dropping,” Panayiotou said.

The prospect looms that the family will also need to abandon the village in time, since the next nearest primary school of Evryhou is an hour away.

Distances are big and employment is not available to keep or attract families to the village, Antoniou said.

Akaki and Solea are the closest gymnasiums to Kambos, both about an hour’s drive away.

Meanwhile, Demetra is set to attend school in Kambos for at least one more year, with the aid of online learning by means of which her teacher strives to keep her at least partly in touch with the wider learning community on the island.