[ΣΤΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ – GREEK VERSION]

The Kestekidion Greek school in Brussels – which has a kindergarten, as well as primary and secondary education – suddenly closed in mid-March, leaving the 159 pupils without a school building or solution for over two weeks now.

The building in the municipality of Saint-Gilles, in which the Greek school of Brussels has been housed since the 1970s, is managed by the Greek Education Ministry. In March 2023, a report based on an inspection carried out by technical experts from the Ministry of Education in October 2022 found that the safety standards were not met.

“We sent a letter to the Greek Education Ministry last October to ask about several problems, including a lack of teachers and problems with the building, but we never received a reply,” Vasileios Katsardis, an elected member of the Greek Community of Brussels, told The Brussels Times.

While he did acknowledge that technical experts from the Greek authorities came to check the building, the decision to close down the school was only made in March 2023 – meaning the children and the staff had been in limbo for at least five months.

159 pupils without a classroom

“Without giving an official reason, they just announced that there were problems with the building and it needed to close,” Katsardis said, adding that the Greek authorities offered neither a solution nor a timeline. 16 days after the school was closed down, no one in Brussels has been able to see the inspection report yet.

The 159 pupils – including children in kindergarten and primary school – now have to follow online education, as they did during the pandemic. “In practice, that means that the Ministry is saying parents should choose between staying at home, even if they cannot telework and leaving their young children home alone.”

Especially for these younger children, Katsardis questioned what level of education they could get. “Do not misunderstand me: if the building is not safe, the children should not be going to that school. But we are just angry that they closed it without a solution for us.”

The lack of information is another sore point for the Greek community, he said. “They did not give us an official reason for the closure, we do not know anything. Are all parts of the building unsafe, or only some? Should these parents be looking for another school if this is a long-term problem?”