There was a heated debate before the Parliament’s Education Committee regarding the Teacher Appointment System, with the Minister of Education, Sports, and Youth, Athina Michailidou, emphasizing that the Ministry has a framework proposal ready and is prepared to present a balanced proposal if certain outstanding issues are resolved with teachers’ organizations as early as next week. “We have a year ahead of us; there is no justification for a delay,” she adds.
In contrast, political parties are ready to put forward their own proposals on the issue, while teachers’ organizations reiterated that they will not accept the victimization or unfair treatment of teachers who have contributed and continue to contribute to education and public schools.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
In her opening remarks, the Minister said that this is an interesting year, a new year, and that the changes already introduced into the system over the past three years are continuing and being systematically evaluated.
At the same time, she said, they are moving forward consistently with institutional and other changes.
Their goal, the Minister continued, is to have a sufficiently ambitious system and to achieve the results that children deserve.
She noted that there is still a great deal to be done—they recognize this—but she reiterated that their goal is to improve the quality of education provided, to have a system that truly offers equal opportunities, and to include sports and youth programs.
He also noted that they have seen a steady increase in both capital and operating expenditures.
“We have the highest budget among the ministries, excluding the Ministry of Finance, and this places a special responsibility on us to achieve the results we aim for,” he added.
Regarding the new teacher evaluation system, which, according to the law, will take effect immediately, Ms. Michaelidou said they are in consultation with teachers’ organizations to address any concerns so that the process can proceed smoothly.
She added that, according to the data, they do not have any particular staffing issues this year.
Responding to questions from members of parliament regarding the Teacher Appointment System, teacher evaluations, summer schools, staffing, infrastructure, school attendants, violence and delinquency, support programs, security cameras, air conditioning, and special education, the Minister of Education said, among other things, that a tremendous effort is already being made to bring about change, and that schools today are not the same as they were 10 years ago.
Regarding support staff, Ms. Michaelidou said that her ministry cannot assign support staff on its own.
“There are procedures, laws, and regulations. Therefore, I am firm on this point. We are not going to make concessions just to satisfy the requests of one, two, or five people who may be completely in the right. So we want to provide accurate data,” she added.
Regarding the list of appointees, which has been in the news recently, the Minister said they have a draft proposal ready.
“We intentionally left some details open so we could finalize them with the teachers’ organizations. If those are finalized by next week, we’ll submit our proposal. We have a year ahead of us; nothing justifies a delay. When the abolition of the Appointees List, ladies and gentlemen, was considered an anachronism in 2015, what is it today? In what country in the world today are you appointed the moment you receive your degree? A ten-year transition period—because they tried in Parliament to push for 2, for 3, for 5—it ended up being 10 years due to pressure. Over the past ten years, a host of distortions have arisen, and I’ll be clear: there are people who have been in the system for all these years, and we’re the first to acknowledge this—and we’re saying we won’t let them be thrown out,” she added.
“So,” she continued, “we’re giving this top priority—double priority over everything else—in collaboration with the legal department, because this is a strictly legal matter.”
“There are people with a legitimate interest; many who are not represented by our teachers’ unions have been waiting to be appointed—they are on the list of those eligible for appointment. The law stated that as of 2027, the current system would be abolished, and appointments would be made solely through examinations. So, we’re taking all of this into account. We’re not here just for today. We’re here for tomorrow as well, and to ensure the quality of this educational system for the future. So, we will present a balanced proposal, just as we did with the evaluation. This does not mean, however, that we will agree on everything with everyone. That is impossible. Everyone has very different opinions,” he added.
“What we want, however,” he noted, “is an honest dialogue.”
“Based on the initial meetings we’ve had regarding our draft, we’re already receiving excellent suggestions from the labor unions; we are reviewing them with the legal department, and as we have said, we will present an updated proposal with improvements, changes, and clarifications. “This must always be in accordance with the law and must not be at the expense of any segment of our teaching staff,” she said.
Regarding evaluation, the Minister said that legislation is in place.
“We’ve been working on this for a year—nine months now—to be ready. So what are we doing here? Voting, voting against, then regretting it? No, formative evaluation will be implemented as simply and smoothly as possible, based on the legislation that was passed. “I will not deprive thousands of teachers of the opportunity to receive support, empowerment, and ongoing professional development simply because I’m running into obstacles,” he noted.
The Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Culture, Chrysanthos Savvides, said in his remarks that they were briefed today by the Minister on the Ministry’s plans for the upcoming school year.
“The government of Nikos Christodoulides has provided solutions to many issues that had remained unresolved for decades, and we should not dismiss all of them. Let me remind you that there were other governments as well, but they did not, for example, install security cameras, they did not plan to install air conditioners, nor did they ensure, for example, the expansion of pre-primary education. But because education is a living organism, there will always be issues and problems,” he added.
Mr. Savvidis said they will have two bills before them that will keep them busy in the coming months.
“The bill on the new method for appointing teachers and on special education. To be precise, they have not yet been submitted to Parliament, but if additional sessions are needed to finalize these bills in a timely manner, we are prepared to meet every day,” he noted.
Beyond that, Mr. Savvidis said, the major problem with schools is overcrowding and a shortage of school facilities.
“Portable classrooms aren’t a solution—for heaven’s sake—they’re taking us back to another black-and-white scenario; I would have accepted that black-and-white image back when there were no color images. We cannot have prefabricated classrooms in our schools and then keep adding more or moving them from one school to another,” he added.
He also mentioned that they raised issues regarding school staffing, about which they have been told the situation is under control, “but I expect an issue to arise next week because many teachers have accepted the positions, but I expect that in the coming days, many teachers—whether on contract or on a permanent probationary basis—will decline them, creating a staffing problem,” he said.
Regarding issues related to air conditioning, Mr. Savvidis said that he has been informed that most of the problems in preschool and elementary schools have been resolved.
“There are problems in secondary education. I hope they will be resolved and that this plan will be finalized; also, a huge issue that we see becoming a festering sore is that while we’ve succeeded in attracting students to technical—whether by promoting technical and vocational education as having many advantages for professional employment or by introducing programs in technical high schools— we simply do not have enough schools, and I believe it will create a huge problem if we turn away more students than we do today. “All provinces must have new technical schools,” he added.
Regarding the list of appointments, Mr. Savvidis said that these teachers—whether they are in the system as permanent staff, contract employees, or temporary staff—must be granted permanent status.
The teachers’ organizations, for their part, reiterated their position regarding the Teacher Appointment System.
The President of OELMEK, Konstantinos Konstantinou, said that the draft text fails to protect teachers who have worked in the system for years, have been deemed competent, and have undergone professional development.
Commenting on Ms. Michaelidou’s statement, that the teachers are exceptional, he questioned why these exceptional teachers must take an exam to become tenured when they have been in the system for ten years.
“We believe that the bill does not protect these teachers, and we consider it self-evident that these people must be protected. The legislation has failed, and if it is implemented, there will be no teachers left.”
POED President Myria Vassiliou was emphatic in her statement, saying that the organization will react forcefully in the event in the event that people from the Lists—who have supported education and public schools for so many years—are victimized and wronged, while also characterizing the issue of the appointment system as thorny.
If the list of candidates for appointment is abolished in 2027, Ms. Vassiliou said, there will be no teachers to meet the needs of the schools. “It’s simple math,” she said.
OLTEK President Panagiotis Lysandrou said they have a huge problem in technical education with administrative staff, cleaners, and even storekeepers, adding that principals are even having to double as storekeepers because there is no other staff available.
Regarding assessment, he said they are in consultation with the Ministry of Education and will provide input on formative assessment, which is a very serious matter and requires sufficient time to be completed and implemented once they are ready.
DISY MP Prodromos Alambritis stated that DISY has raised a number of substantive issues concerning the smooth operation of schools, their timely and full staffing, as well as the promotion of important educational reforms.
“We placed particular emphasis on the teacher appointment system and requested that the comprehensive proposal be submitted to the House of Representatives without further delay,” he added.
Regarding optional full-day schools, Mr. Alambritis said they reiterated their position that these schools must begin operating at the start of the school year so that students and their families can receive timely and effective support.
“At the same time, the summer school program must be expanded to as many schools as possible throughout Cyprus, and we must consider whether this program can operate during the last week of August and the first days of September to bridge the gap that exists before classes begin at schools,” he noted.
At the same time, Mr. Alambritis said, they outlined DISY’s priorities, such as upgrading school buildings, sports facilities, the installation of air conditioning—which has been delayed and should have been completed within the three-year timeline that had been set—and the smooth implementation of the new teacher evaluation system.
“At the same time, we consider the development of technical education, the utilization of artificial intelligence, and the promotion in Parliament of legislation on special education—which has been pending for some time—to be of great importance, the issues of informal education that must be addressed, the problems of violence and delinquency—which are a major cause for concern in many schools— the problems facing public and private pre-primary education, and various other issues,” he added.
He also noted that the new school year must begin with schools that are safe, modern, and adequately staffed.
“Unresolved issues and delays must not be passed on to students, parents, and teachers. As DISY, we will closely monitor the Ministry’s implementation of its commitments, exercising constructive and rigorous parliamentary oversight. On the occasion of the start of the school year, I wish all students, teachers, parents, and all school staff—in both public and private education—a good, creative, and productive year filled with health, strength, and many successes,” he added.
AKEL Member of Parliament Christos Christofides said in his remarks that for the past few weeks, the Minister of Education has been making an effort “to present our educational system as flawless—that we are fully prepared in all areas, and that there are no problems.”
“We heard this narrative again today. I’ll say something very simple: let every parent, every teacher, every student, anyone who comes into contact with our schools or works in our schools—escorts, secretaries, custodians, and so on—whether this is the reality,” he added.
Mr. Christofides announced that AKEL will introduce a bill on the new Appointment System, a proposal designed to serve three purposes: First, to act as a safety net, since things are not going well; to put pressure on the Ministry of Education to finally introduce the bill it promised would be before them in September—but now they’re hearing talk of December—and, of course, ensure the smooth operation of schools—that is, that come this September, there will be teachers in the schools and that they will have the teachers they need.
“Everyone says—and we say it too, and it’s absolutely true—that you can tell a good teacher by how they perform in the classroom. We’ve had teachers in our classrooms for years; we see them, we evaluate them; the state has invested millions in them so they can master the curriculum, understand the classroom environment, and learn teaching methods—and now what are we telling them? “You have to leave, go take a theoretical exam; we don’t care what you do in the classroom, but if you pass the theoretical exam, you’ll be able to continue working at the school.” “Things like this don’t happen,” he added.
“I also told the Minister today that today’s reaction was to be expected; I’m sure that in a few months, when people realize there’s no other way out, she herself, her Ministry, and the Government will be grateful to us, because in September, before the presidential election, we will have to prevent—for their sake as well—total chaos in the schools,” he added.
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou stated that they have raised various issues concerning the smooth operation of schools.
“As for the air conditioners, we didn’t just ask for a list and percentages of how many have been installed, but how many are actually working—in other words, we want to know that on Monday morning, when schools open, it’s not just a matter of how many air conditioners are mounted on the walls or stored in boxes in our schools, but whether they’ll be turned on and functioning under the current conditions we’re facing. We have discussed having a specific guide, a map, and a timeline drawn up regarding the prefabricated classrooms. The Minister mentioned to us that prefabricated classrooms are also used in other European countries, but there are all kinds of prefabricated structures,” he noted.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ioannou continued, right now in Cyprus we have prefabricated classrooms that lack air conditioning, prefabricated classrooms that leak water, and prefabricated classrooms where it’s impossible to actually hold a class.
Regarding school boards, Mr. Ioannou said that ELAM has expressed a very specific position. “School boards must be maintained in their current form and not transferred to the municipalities, as provided for by legislation passed several years ago, and we have asked the Ministry to submit a relevant bill,” he stated.
PSEM Secretary Despoina Kyprianou said in her remarks that during today’s discussion, PSEM raised the issue of air conditioners and, specifically, wants to know when their installation will be completed and when they will be fully operational.
“We discussed reducing waste, which is a very important issue for us as the PSEM, and regarding school buses, there were many problems with damage—they weren’t working and kept breaking down. There were far too many issues,” he added.
When asked whether today’s update from the Minister regarding the start of the school year left them satisfied, the PSEM Secretary said they’re still waiting for some answers and some timelines.
“We were told that some would be provided on Friday, and others within the next two weeks. We would certainly prefer a little more transparency. Not all of our questions were answered, though time was certainly a factor as well; however, overall, we had very good communication with the Ministry last year, and we hope to have even better communication this year,” he concluded.
Source: CNA
