On Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Sports, and Youth, Athina Michaelidou, in remarks she made before her meeting with the President of the Democratic Rally, Annita Dimitriou.
When asked about progress in discussions with teachers’ organizations, Ms. Michaelidou said that the Ministry sees no dead end but is currently in the process of consultation.
“We promised that we would listen to everyone—both the unions and other stakeholders. I would like to remind you that new teachers, prospective teachers, and parents all have a role and a voice here; we have met with all of them. We submitted our updated proposal yesterday, giving the teachers’ organizations one week to submit their written responses. So we are waiting for those responses,” he continued.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“I cannot know why they are rejecting even the updated proposal. What I want to emphasize is that our proposal is fair and balanced; it takes into account both those with prior experience who work in schools, that is, union members, but it also takes into account other people who have already passed the exam,” he further noted.
He reminded that, according to the law, in 2027, only those who had passed the exam would be eligible to work. “So I can’t be unfair to either of the two groups; we’re putting forward a very fair proposal, which calls for 50% of appointments from the closed registry and 50% from the list of candidates eligible for appointment to fill vacancies, but with permanent status granted through the classification exam,” he added.
When asked whether teachers therefore support unfair treatment of their colleagues, the Minister said that based on the positions of the labor unions, it appears they do not want the 50-50 split.
“Perhaps they want exclusive access to appointments for their members. And also, what they have been strongly demanding—and we all understand this—is automatic tenure, something that does not happen in the public sector more broadly. Therefore, the normal course of events would be for us to discuss their written positions and proposals next week, so that we can formulate the final proposal, which will then undergo legal review and be submitted to Parliament, rather than resorting to further protests,” he said.
“I would like to point out that decisions regarding protests were made even before they had seen the updated proposal, so this concerns us. If the goal is simply to declare that we want things to remain as they are, with no changes made, then that is not healthy,” he concluded.
Furthermore, in a statement, the Democratic Alarm noted that it had heard the Minister’s proposals, which it will review.
“We remain in favor of dialogue with all stakeholders, with the aim of ensuring a smooth transition to the new system. At this stage, transitional arrangements are needed so that no one is left behind. At the same time, the Democratic Alarm’s fundamental position remains the abolition of the old list. The reform must serve, first and foremost, our children and the improvement of education in our country. “Even at the eleventh hour, we are ready to contribute to finding the right and sustainable solutions,” he noted in this regard.
Source: CNA
