The Minister of Schooling, Sports activities and Youth expressed her perception that the brand new college 12 months will begin with out issues earlier than the Parliamentary Schooling Committee, in the course of the dialogue that passed off on Wednesday forward of the beginning of the brand new college time period.
In her presentation, Mrs. Michailidou talked about that every one the actions and the imaginative and prescient of the Ministry are associated to what sort of college students we would like and embody a dialogue with all of the events concerned.
He characterised as the primary targets of the Ministry the transition to a contemporary, human-centered inclusive college and the cultivation of talents, abilities and information in order that the training system is more practical.
Relating to college staffing points, he mentioned that a lot of the course of has been accomplished and that no issues are anticipated, whereas books and academic supplies are already accessible.
Just about infrastructure points, Mrs. Michailidou mentioned that the Ministry has recorded the wants all through Cyprus, with the funding in 2024-2025 for infrastructure points reaching €140 million, whereas particular software program shall be used to forecast constructions and submit listing of initiatives.
Relating to the finished actions of the interval 2023-2024, in accordance with the Minister's presentation, these embody the change of the coed analysis course of, the updating and publication of detailed packages, the enlargement of the elective full-day college, the upgrading of Secondary and Submit-secondary Technical and Vocational Schooling and the beginning of the transition from Particular to Unified Schooling (coaching of attendants)
He additionally mentioned that actions for the digital college have been carried out, measures have been taken on problems with violence and delinquency (elevated guarding, pilot utility of good cameras), whereas life training and trainer empowerment packages have been strengthened.
Relating to the actions for 2024-2025, he mentioned that these foresee the rise of full-day colleges over a five-year interval, the rise of faculty escorts, the prevention and therapy of violence, the emphasis on pre-school training, the evaluation of scholars' abilities/talents with the limitation of pointless materials, the institutionalization of a college enchancment plan, a pilot program for various training and the reintegration of scholars with excessive delinquent habits, the emphasis on the cultivation and promotion of the Greek language, the continuation of the digitization of training and the creation of an digital pupil file, the change of the Particular laws / of Unified Schooling and the acceleration of procedures, in addition to the extension of the Summer season Faculty to Particular Colleges.
Relating to the matter of putting in air conditioners in chosen colleges, Mrs. Michailidou mentioned that the method is progressing regardless of the issues, with the cooperation of the college authorities, including that very quickly all 50 air conditioners that have been deliberate for the primary section, whereas the subsequent 50 colleges will quickly be introduced, with the goal of masking all colleges inside three years.
In his transient intervention, the president of the Nicosia college board, Nikolaos Megalemos, mentioned that the set up of air conditioners in 9 Nicosia colleges shall be accomplished by the weekend, whereas one college stays, for which an extension was given till September 10.
Within the dialogue that adopted, the president of the Confederation of Associations of Dad and mom of Public Colleges of Secondary Schooling, Loizos Constantinou, described as critical the problem of the delay within the announcement of admission outcomes to Greek universities and requested a evaluate of the problem by session between the competent ministries of the 2 international locations.
The President of POED, Myria Vassiliou, described the set up of air conditioners as necessary, in addition to the discount of educating materials as constructive. He then acknowledged that the purpose of the FOED is staffing at a price of seven% with contractors and expressed readiness to dialogue with the Ministry on varied points (e.g. analysis, staffing).
The consultant of OLTEK mentioned that the method of staffing the technical colleges is heading in the right direction, expressing on the identical time the place that indefinite-term staff must be transformed into everlasting ones. He additionally mentioned that assist is anticipated with the receipt of books from Greece and the granting of copyrights, whereas he highlighted the problems of reference to the labor market and the advance of constructing infrastructure.
The President of OELMEK Dimitris Taliadoros identified that there are various pending and delays in staffing and requested to hurry up the procedures forward of the beginning of the 12 months, noting that 18% of the employees are contract staff.
He additionally described as unacceptable the secondment of academics to administrative positions inside and outdoors the Ministry of Schooling, stressing that OELMEK is not going to settle for the secondment of one other director, whereas he requested extra funds for air conditioners.
Responding to the above factors, the Minister of Schooling reiterated the place that there don’t appear to be any critical points forward of the beginning of the 12 months, including that all the pieces shall be prepared by way of staffing as quickly as the scholars enter the school rooms.
He additionally agreed with the positions heard concerning the secondment of executives, including that there shall be a diminished variety of secondments this 12 months, however the want for secondments typically is not going to disappear as folks of a particular profile are required for Ministry companies.
He additionally mentioned that the Ministry has requested provisions within the price range for air conditioners for the subsequent three years however there’s nonetheless no actual quantity, whereas he additionally spoke about non-public donations to the college boards.
Relating to the problem of locations in Greek universities, he mentioned that Greek laws classifies Cyprus amongst European international locations and doesn’t enable a second distribution, characterizing the more than likely improvement as the discharge of the outcomes earlier in August.
In his statements after the tip of the session, DISY MP Giorgos Karoullas mentioned that the imaginative and prescient of the Ministry of Schooling must be evaluated by actions and outcomes, stressing that the main focus of all points must be the event of youngsters by the continual modernization of the academic system.
For his half, AKEL MP Christos Christofidis expressed his settlement with the imaginative and prescient of the Ministry of Schooling since, as he famous, it coincides with what AKEL has been saying lately concerning necessary reforms in training.
Any more, concrete steps are necessary to start out the 12 months with the fewest attainable issues, he continued, declaring that essentially the most major problem for the time being is the delay in staffing, since, as he talked about, throughout August there have been tons of of trainer transfers and others will observe, creating questions in regards to the readiness of full-day colleges to function from September 23, whereas an identical delay, as he mentioned, can also be noticed in secondments.
Different critical points in accordance with Mr. Christofidis are the submission of the built-in planning for the set up of air conditioners in 2025 and 2026, which, as he talked about, the Minister promised, including that the numbers heard concern a small proportion of colleges.
He additionally highlighted the problem of the distribution of locations for admission to Greek universities, due to which, as he mentioned, tons of of locations are being misplaced for Cypriot college students. The Greek authorities announce the positions on the finish of August and don’t proceed with a second allocation, however even when the positions are given there is no such thing as a time within the Cypriot universities for a 3rd allocation, he mentioned.
He famous that to be able to cope with the issue, the Greek aspect is critically learning the potential for the allocation of seats being made at first of August, which, as he mentioned, opens the door to Cypriot universities for a 3rd allocation. “We are going to strongly insist, throughout the framework of an interstate settlement, to persuade Greece to make a second distribution. There’ll now be time in order that as many locations as attainable can be found at public universities”, he concluded.
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvidis mentioned that the social gathering utterly agrees with the imaginative and prescient of the federal government of Nikos Christodoulidis for training.
He highlighted as soon as once more the shortage of infrastructure within the nation's sports activities colleges aside from Limassol, problems with overpopulation in particular areas and the rejection of scholars from technical colleges, whereas complaints have additionally been expressed about issues arising from the implementation of the brand new type of native authorities with the abolition of faculty tax authorities.
Relating to the announcement of the outcomes for the Greek universities, Mr. Savvidis mentioned that in final 12 months's go to of the committee to Greece, they’d acquired guarantees that this 12 months the issues can be solved a lot quicker, nonetheless nothing occurred.
“Right this moment, on our personal initiative, along with Pavlos Mylonas, we’ll ship a letter to the corresponding parliamentary training committee of Greece to offer precedence to discovering an answer to this downside, which on the one hand causes nervousness for fogeys and college students, and alternatively creates issues for each youngsters who will go to Greece in addition to youngsters who’re compelled to search for pupil lodging on the final minute”, he emphasised.
EDEK MP Andreas Apostolou expressed his satisfaction with the methodical, as he described, implementation of Nikos Christodoulides' governance program.
He added that he personally participated in 4 features of this system, the primary being the enlargement of free pre-primary training, which begins this 12 months and can assist youngsters and their households pedagogically.
A second matter, he continued, considerations the enlargement and upgrading of full-day colleges, which is able to begin for the primary time this 12 months in September and shall be accomplished on the finish of the college time period, their high quality shall be upgraded and their reference to the morning time, with an extra 30 new colleges to affix the elective full-day college scheme.
“Our purpose, which can also be the federal government's purpose, is that by the tip of the five-year interval, any college that applies to affix the elective full-day college will achieve this,” he famous.
The third challenge, in accordance with Mr. Apostolou, considerations the implementation of uniform training and primarily the inclusion of all youngsters with disabilities within the training system. “No exclusion will be accepted and it’s clear each within the PtD's governance program and within the positions of the Minister that the system that existed and the laws of 1999 have come full circle”, including that the change of the laws to implement a brand new system within the new college 12 months, whereas he requested that any such circumstances that come up this 12 months be evaluated sensitively.
Lastly, concerning the problems of faculty bullying and intra-school violence, he mentioned that the strengthening of suppression strategies, however particularly that of prevention packages, creates optimism for a discount within the phenomenon.
