House education committee chairman and Diko MP Pavlos Mylonas on Friday sharply criticised the police for what he called their failure to tackle juvenile delinquency and repeated vandalism of school property in Limassol.

“The police are incompetent and unable to respond,” he said, calling on Education Minister Athena Michaelidou and police chief Themistos Arnaoutis to explain the lack of action.

“Like every year, the same story repeats itself, with serious delinquency problems and deficiencies in logistical infrastructure,” Mylonas added during visits to Ypsonas and Linopetra high schools and the Limassol Primary School of Zakakiou–Polykarpou.

He said the situation in Ypsonas was particularly severe, surpassing similar cases elsewhere.

Mylonas urged the police to “finally meet their obligations” and at least curb the recurring damage to school property, much of which occurs at night with perpetrators rarely identified.

“Let the chief and the minister explain why the police cannot respond, because this is what the citizen sees and this is the truth,” he said.

Mylonas stressed that police shortcomings were not confined to Limassol but reflected an islandwide problem.

He added that in Nicosia, support units had been set up within schools to help children showing delinquent behaviour, including criminal activity and substance abuse, and that the education ministry had pledged to expand these structures across Cyprus.

Ahead of a nationwide student protest announced by the Pan-Cypriot Student Coordinating Committee (PSEM) for September 22 over poor school infrastructure, Mylonas said students had the right to demonstrate but also “need to take responsibility for their school obligations.”

PSEM declared a nationwide boycott of classes due to broken air conditioning and other infrastructure issues, after students at Polis Chrysochous Gymnasium and Kykkos A Lyceum in Nicosia walked out, saying their classrooms had become “ovens.”

“They [the students] need to show patience. Classes are critical and important and we don’t need disruption in schools,” he said, stressing that the government was “trying to get things moving” within its capabilities.

He called it unacceptable that “at the slightest opportunity tensions are created in schools, leading students to avoid attending classes, often serving other interests, as I suspect is the case this time.”

“The minister has announced [the action plan and timetable for the air-conditioning issue] many times. I’m tired of listening to the same thing,” he concluded.