Cyprus’s poor performance on the PISA assessment is causing serious concern, with the President of the Federation of Secondary Education Parents, Loizos Konstantinou, highlighting the need for substantial changes to the education system.
Speaking on the “Alpha Kalimera” program, he stated that the PISA assessment results show the country’s low scores and draw a comparison with other countries that have better results.
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“Every three years when this assessment is released, more and more countries are surpassing us. We are perhaps the only country that is consistently falling behind.”
Mr. Konstantinou sounded the alarm, noting that Cyprus ranks 27th in the assessment, while emphasizing, among other things, that “we’re really at the bottom. I don’t know if there’s anywhere lower for us to go.”
According to him, the main problem is that teaching methods have remained the same for decades. As he notes, education is based primarily on rote memorization and written exams. He also points out that, the amount of time spent learning decreases every year, adding that in secondary education, students only receive instruction until Easter, since the exam period begins after the break. “If we measure the net, effective teaching time, we’re at a disadvantage,” he says.
Regarding the curriculum that teachers must cover, Mr. Konstantinou notes that teachers’ hours are limited, resulting in them having to “rush” through the material, leaving no time for interactive discussion in the classroom. He added that, since children are taught a large number of subjects, “we cover a little of everything and rush through it.”
What would help address the problem, he notes, would be the adoption of successful educational models from abroad.
