Menidi Students Face a Third Year in Containers Installed After the 1999 Earthquake

Students and teachers in Menidi will begin another school year in containers that once housed pupils displaced by the 1999 earthquake. They are about five kilometers from their original school building, which has remained closed for two and a half years because of structural problems.

Residents say the necessary repairs have not been carried out since autumn 2024. They also claim the abandoned site has become a focus of disorder and criminal activity. The school complex had previously drawn public attention after the death of Marios Souloukos, a child killed by a stray bullet in June 2017.

The problems extend beyond Menidi. Teachers report that some schools operate in aging apartment buildings, while maintenance and improvement work continues until shortly before students return. They also point to major staffing gaps across subject areas.

For the 2026-27 school year, the Education Ministry announced 29,948 substitute-teacher appointments in the first phase. The school year is due to begin with infrastructure and staffing concerns still unresolved.