The first day of school is tomorrow, Tuesday, for secondary school teachers, who are starting their duties, while elementary school teachers will report to their schools on Monday, September 7.
Classes in secondary education (general secondary education and technical and vocational education and training) will begin on Monday, September 7, 2026. In elementary education, classes will begin on Monday, September 14, 2026.
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Meanwhile, as the new school year begins, processes related to the Teacher Appointment System continue.
Today, Monday, the Minister of Education, Sports, and Youth, Athina Michailidou, will meet with the leadership of POED, and tomorrow, Tuesday, with OLTEK.
Last Thursday, following the conclusion of the POED Executive Board meeting, the organization’s President, Myra Vassiliou, told KYPE that the Executive Board “had identified a series of specific questions and concerns,” which will be presented to the Minister next Monday, with the aim of receiving clear and substantiated responses from the Ministry.
Furthermore, the Minister of Education had already met last Thursday with OELMEK regarding this specific issue. The following day after the meeting with the Minister, evaluated the working document submitted by the Ministry of Education regarding the modernization of the Teacher Appointment System and called on the Ministry of Education to take seriously into account the decisions of the Pan-Cyprian Conference of General Representatives and to return with a revised proposal that effectively addresses the distortions of the current system, without creating new injustices or victimizing any category of teachers.
In a statement, the Organization notes that the proposal by the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth does not comply with the decisions of the Organization’s Pan-Cyprian Conference of General Delegates (PCGD) and creates new distortions.
According to its statement, the Organization does not deny the need to change the Appointment System; on the contrary, it considers that reforming it is now essential. It notes, however, that the reform cannot be designed solely with a view to immediately meeting staffing needs.
OELMEK also states that it will participate creatively and responsibly in the dialogue, submitting specific and well-documented proposals for an Appointment System that combines meritocracy, transparency, and the maintenance of high standards in teacher selection with the substantive protection of those already serving and the effective staffing of public schools. It makes it clear, however, that if these basic conditions are not guaranteed, it will not remain passive and will react forcefully, utilizing all legal means at her disposal to defend the rights of teachers and the public school system.
The Minister of Education, in a post on her personal account on “X,” had mentioned regarding the meeting with OELMEK that they discussed the issue of the teacher appointment system. “We listened to concerns, accepted suggestions, and provided clarifications. We are continuing the discussion, listening carefully to the positions and suggestions of those involved, but also acting responsibly in light of the need to move forward with solutions that stand the test of time and serve public schools,” he states.
Meanwhile, the Minister will give a presentation tomorrow, Tuesday, at 10:00 a.m. at the Ministry on the start of the new 2026–2027 school year, while the following day, September 2, at 8:35 a.m., she has been invited to brief the Parliament’s Education Committee—which is reconvening after the summer recess—on the start of the 2026–2027 school year.
Invited to attend the Committee meeting were the Minister of Education, Sports, and Youth; representatives of the Educational Services Commission (ESC); the President of the Pancyprian Federation of School Boards, and representatives of the labor unions: the Organization of Greek Secondary Education Teachers of Cyprus (OELMEK), the Organization of Technical Education Teachers (OLTEK), the Pan-Cyprian Organization of Greek Teachers (POED), the Pan-Cyprian Confederation of Federations of Parents’ Associations of Public Secondary Schools, the Pan-Cyprian Confederation of Federations of Parents’ Associations of Elementary Schools, the Pan-Cyprian Confederation of Federations of Parents’ and Guardians’ Associations of Public and Community Preschools, and the Pan-Cyprian Student Coordinating Committee (PSEM).
Source: CNA
