Manos Vularinos comments on the decision of the municipality of New Philadelphia to turn schools into parking lots for spectators of the Conference League final
As you probably know, the 29th of May is a Wednesday the final of the Conference League will be held at AEK’s stadium. What you may not know is that because the stadium is Greek (and therefore built without provision for adequate parking spaces) the municipality of New Philadelphia decided to turn municipal schools into parking lots in order to serve the spectators of the match.
I am writing this again because I understand that it sounds extreme even to people who are born and live in the country where the world’s wisest, hardest working and most tortured people live and are used to extreme news: Schools of the Municipality of Nea Philadelphia – Nea Chalkidona will be turned into parking lots in order to serve the needs of the spectators of the Conference League final.
I don’t know who first took the decision (reading the minutes of the municipal council meeting I understand that the ball is thrown to the former mayor Vouros – yes the well-known actor) nor the position of the Ministry of Education. From what I understand the government and the municipal authority agree that a final is more important than the education of children whose parents are unfortunate enough not to have enough money to send them to a private school. But it doesn’t matter whose idea it is and how much the relevant bodies agree. What matters is that this is a great idea which, if expanded, will provide solutions to problems other than serving football spectators.
For starters, let’s agree with what the Ministry of Education seems to agree with first and foremost: Given that the Greek education system is so failed that Greek students are primarily in the inability to understand text and mathematical illiteracy, one day more, one day down (or even several days up and down) nothing will change. Closed schools will not make the already very bad situation for students even worse, and turning schools into car parks (from children’s parks) can only bring:
- Reduction of incidents of school violence: Without school how will there be school bullying? How will school bullies attack their classmates if they are in the safety of their own home?
- Increased municipal revenue: Every school costs a shitload of money while every parking lot in a parking problem area brings in a shitload of money. From a financial point of view, the insistence on keeping schools open and not turning them into parking lots is incomprehensible.
- Beautifying the image of cities: There are so many schools that, if they were turned into parking lots, Athens could (sort of) look like a European capital rather than a Middle Eastern city.
- Booming trade: Citizens would comfortably go shopping without worrying about where to park their car
- Gain in time and fuel: Think about how much time and fuel you spend trying to find parking. If we follow the example of the municipality of New Philadelphia and the schools are turned into parking lots all this time and all the money we spend on gas and oil will be ours.
Bad lies. The conversion of schools into parking lots has only positives and I hope the Ministry of Education and the Minister will embrace this fine initiative. Their stance on converting schools into parking lots in the City of New Philadelphia shows that they have the open mind needed. Let’s hope they have the courage. And good for them.
