The elementary school textbooks that the Ministry of Education is awaiting will arrive by ship, with Athina Michailidou explaining that booklets containing the first chapters have been published so that teaching can proceed.
At the same time, referring to the teacher appointment system and the existing distortions, she notably stated that “the day before yesterday, a 60-year-old friend of mine was appointed.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Speaking on the “Alpha News” program, Education Minister Athina Michaelidou addressed all the outstanding issues of the new school year, noting that “Everything that can be anticipated is in place; it’s ready, it’s already up and running—we’ve taken precautions. But we always say that there are 800 schools, tens of thousands of children, and thousands of teachers.”
As for school staffing, it stands at 99 percent, with substitute teachers being sent to schools until the position is filled.
SEE ALSO: “A baseless claim causing unnecessary turmoil”: The Ministry of Education’s response to the start of the school year without textbooks in elementary schools
Regarding the issue of the delay in textbook delivery, Ms. Michaelidou emphasized that there are always timelines, with 60% of the books published in Cyprus and 40% by printing houses in Greece.
“We had minor problems, mainly in elementary schools. We’re talking about five titles out of 650,000 books. That’s 3%. We had a delay in delivery. That 3% has changed because quite a few books have been received by now. We’re down to around 1%.”
The biggest issue is with the elementary school math books, as the rest pertain to subjects taught once or twice a week.
“Unfortunately, the publisher still has them on the ship, and they’re coming from the country where they were published,” added Ms. Michailidou, explaining that publishing houses have the right to subcontract.
“The contractor himself has reassured us once again that we’ll have them in about two weeks. Of course, as soon as we realized there was this problem, we made sure that the first pages of the books were published as booklets and distributed to the schools.”
At the same time, there is also the alternative for teachers to make use of the interactive whiteboards they have.
“We inherited a mess”
Regarding the school facilities, Ms. Michailidou stated that “we inherited a mess when it comes to the buildings.”
“It’s not possible to have new buildings within two or three years. It’s not possible to fix everything. The priority is the safety and health of the children.”
READ ALSO: A bad start… Elementary school students begin the year without textbooks
On the issue of air conditioners, he emphasized that all schools will be equipped with them, except for those in mountainous areas, adding that “whether they’re installed now or in a few months shouldn’t be the issue. The point is to overcome problems and do our job properly.”
Commenting on the PISA test results, the Minister noted that “this was to be expected,” adding that all countries had seen a decline.
“After all, we don’t teach what PISA tests. PISA assesses skills: critical thinking, creativity. We’re striving to shift from rote memorization to skills.”
“Teachers are being appointed at age 62”
On the issue of the teacher appointment system and the abolition of the list of candidates for appointment—which, according to legislation, will take effect in 2027—Ms. Michailidou noted that “there are differing opinions.”
“This legislation was passed in 2015. A decade and a transitional period—which is enormous—have passed, and many distortions have arisen; the law states that starting in 2027, teachers will be hired solely through examinations. This simply cannot be allowed to happen. For many and various reasons, so many teachers have not passed the exam that there are not enough to meet the needs.”
Illustrating the situation with the list of appointees, the Minister stated that “the day before yesterday, a 60-year-old friend of mine received an appointment. People as old as 62 are getting appointed.”
Under the Ministry’s proposal, the list will be abolished, while corrective measures will also be taken to address the irregularities concerning the examination process for the list of candidates for appointment.
