OELMEK grants until January 10, 2025, in order to provide specific answers to a series of issues, through its letter to the Minister of Education, Athina Michaelidou, while warning with strong reaction, in case the same “unproductive attitude” of the Ministry of Education continues.
OELMEK's letter to Ms. Michaelidou was sent in response to a letter from the competent Minister that she sent to the organization last Friday, in response to OELMEK's positions regarding the procedure and methodology followed by the Ministry of Education in the dialogue on the teacher evaluation plan.
The Organization, after presenting a series of issues to the Minister through the letter, states that it is granting credit until January 10, as a last-ditch effort to move forward on these issues and to obtain “specific and not general answers”, while emphasizing that “in the event that the mockery and the same unproductive attitude of the Minister of Education and Culture continue, our reaction will be strong”. It further states that “the Organization's patience and tolerance have run out” and speaks of “toying” with OELMEK by the Ministry, which, as it notes, “cannot be tolerated indefinitely”.Responding to the letter of the Minister of Education regarding the new Teacher Evaluation System, OELMEK states that “unfortunately, the above letter is yet another proof of the tendency you have been showing for the past period, that is, to present a fictitious or virtual reality, which it does not reflect what is really happening” and notes that “you did the same with the issue of school staffing, where you stated at the end of August that the schools are fully staffed, while appointments are made even at the end of November”.
“The same thing happened,” he adds, “with the Detailed Programs, where you talked about updating, modernizing, reducing material, while the result you presented does not in any way confirm the promises. The same applies to the security guards in the Gymnasiums, where you declared to Parliament in September that they had been appointed, something that at the end of November still has not happened. You are constantly doing the same on most issues, in an endless effort to embellish reality.”
As OELMEK adds in its letter, “your above practice is not surprising, since you are trying as a political figure to defend your work and cover up your own weaknesses and/or mistakes,” and continues by stating that “while we can understand your intentions, we will not tolerate this effort you are making through your letter, as well as through your public statements, which is the shifting of your own responsibilities for the dysfunctional dialogue on the evaluation system, elsewhere.”
Furthermore, he notes that the Minister of Education has been doing this on many issues recently, “to justify the unjustified.”
“The Inspectors are to blame for the Detailed Programs, the School Boards for the air conditioners and security guards. For the issue of evaluation, OELMEK. You even dare to characterize the attitude of our Organization as unproductive. You especially should not invoke productivity, not only for the issue of evaluation, but also for a series of other issues that we will list below,” the Organization further states.
In relation to the issue of evaluation, OELMEK wonders how it is possible for the Minister to talk about OELMEK's non-productive attitude, when the proposals she submits “are full of shortcomings, ambiguities, vagueness and are not analyzed in detail at any point”, while she continues to ask questions such as “how can a productive dialogue take place, when we ask you in writing in our letter dated 18/10/24 detailed our positions on Stage A', along with a series of questions and to receive as a response a new text on 25/10/24 for the stage in question, in which no reference is made whatsoever in our letter and is there any answer to the questions we put to you?”.
“How will there be a productive dialogue when, while the dialogue for Stage A has not been completed, which has essentially not even begun, you send us draft texts for the next stages? How will there be a productive dialogue when your proposals are not accompanied by an economic study for teaching/administrative time, while you know that other attempts in the past failed for this very reason? How will there be a productive dialogue when you submit proposals that do not ensure the implementation of a meritocratic evaluation system (e.g. composition of a second-instance body for examining objections); How will there be a productive dialogue when you reinstate unacceptable provisions that had been rejected in the past?”, says OELMEK.
She notes that she herself, seeing the above “unproductive process”, for which, as she states, is “solely responsible” the Minister of Education, simply did the obvious and requested a comprehensive and comprehensive proposal from the Ministry of Education, with all the details, without gaps and ambiguities, including the economic study, in order to position itself responsibly and seriously.
As it states “its decision Our organization is based not only on its experience of the counterproductive and salacious “dialogue” you have on the subject of evaluation, but also on the dialogue we have been having with you for many months on various issues, for which we have never received concrete and substantial answers with the result that a number of serious issues of Secondary Education remain open and unresolved”.
Moreover, referring to the Alternative Study and Reintegration School, she states that it is “an issue in which, in addition to ineffectiveness, you have shown similar offensive behavior as the one above regarding evaluation, which you seem to employ when faced with your failed policies or decisions. Specifically, the announcement of your Ministry regarding the Alternative Study and Reintegration School, which you issued on 14/10/2024, caused anger and indignation in the educational world and beyond, given that the sole responsibility for the unpleasant developments was yours and not the teachers, parents and students, as you mentioned in the announcement”, adding that “beyond this, your attitude on this specific issue was anything but productive, since you violated every rule for introducing changes/innovations in education, you never informed those involved about the content of the program, as you had promised, and you did not inform those involved about the choice of venue”.
On the issue of student delinquency, he states that while the Minister of Education committed to a series of measures, “essentially nothing has happened,” since even useful institutions (e.g. OAP) have been degraded during her time, while adding that “with a series of misguided actions by your Ministry, you led to a dead end the implementation of the Alternative Program for students with extremely delinquent behavior, which was a recommendation of OELMEK.”In addition, he refers to the issue of installing cameras in School Groups, which, as he claims, has not progressed, even in the few schools that the Minister committed to and adds that while you publicly announced the placement of security guards (guards) in all High Schools, dozens of schools have not yet been placed and you agreed on the need to upgrade the operation of the OAP, so that it operates more promptly, from the beginning of September, and more effectively, without complex bureaucratic procedures.
He also states that Ms. Mihailidou has not kept the commitment she made at the meeting held on 26/9/2024, where she had stated before all Educational Organizations that she would send a proposal on the burning issue of the Teacher Appointment System in early October and, specifically, “next week”.
In the meantime, he says that he has left the implementation of their Agreement “in limbo” to increase permanent positions, in order to gradually reduce the huge number of contract employees, whose percentage this school year reaches a large percentage of 20%.
“Your Government has not included any provision in the 2025 budget for an increase in permanent positions with the aim of gradually reducing the percentage of contract employees to the agreed 7%. All this, while you know that without the increase in permanent organic positions, the new appointment system will essentially lead to a dead end, in addition to the other problems that must be solved immediately,” he notes.
In addition, he states that in many meetings, since assuming her duties until today, the competent Minister has stated that she will bring a proposal/bill to resolve the problems that exist in the Private Schools Legislation.
“While you have acknowledged that your Ministry is unable to exercise any control over Private Schools, you have not taken any action to strengthen the competent Service of your Ministry. You have not prepared any organizational chart to strengthen the staffing of the Service that is mandated to exercise the controls provided for by the Legislation on Private Schools. At the meeting of the Secretariat of OELMEK with the President of the Republic, on May 20, 2024, you were asked by the President by June 1, 2024 to submit a relevant proposal to him. While six months have passed, there has been no development on the issue. It seems that you have abandoned the issue in favor of Private interests. Essentially, the only characterization that fits your attitude is mockery,” OELMEK notes in its letter.
On the issue of State Training Institutes (STIs), he states that “it is clear that you have refused to engage in dialogue on their pedagogical upgrading, as well as to implement educational policies that you have implemented at other levels of education,” adding that “it is clear that you are biased against Secondary Education. You have refused to discuss with us the upgrading of STIs and today more than 100 departments cannot function due to a lack of teachers.”Regarding the secondments of Executives, he notes that “an issue on which you stated that you agree with the position of our Organization, not only did you not take any substantive steps, but you proceeded to new secondments of Executives, which you refused to revoke”, adding that “the result of this policy of yours was that 20% of School Units were administratively understaffed”.
Finally, OLMEK states that the Minister of Education changed “unilaterally and arbitrarily the Timetable of the transitional classes for children with an immigrant background, without any dialogue or even information and without scientific documentation”, she has never submitted a specific and complete schedule for the installation of air conditioners in School Units, as requested by all agencies and repeatedly avoids the essential discussion of those who have been cut off from Secondary Education in the period 2013-2019.
OELMEK does not have the authority to discuss issues concerning KIEs, says the Association
OELMEK does not have the authority to discuss issues concerning State Training Institutes (STIs), as it does not represent the employees in them, emphasizes the Pancyprian Association of Qualified Teachers of STIs, which underlines that the State Training Institutes are represented by the trade unions SEK and PEO, which have achieved significant changes, such as the conversion of STI teachers from self-employed to employees, through legal claims that clarified their status.
In today's announcement, on the occasion of the reference to OELMEK's letter to the Minister of Education regarding the State Training Institutes and “issues that have not progressed”, the Pan-Cypriot Association of Qualified Educators KIE questions “with what authority OELMEK requests a dialogue with the Minister of Education for the pedagogical upgrade of KIEs and, in fact, accuses it of denying it cooperation”.
“It is clear that, as the Minister stated on 25/8/2024, the Ministry's goal is to improve the programs provided to children, and not to satisfy union demands, while no change is foreseen in the way the KIEs are staffed,” she says.
Regarding the departments that are not operating due to a lack of teachers, the Pancyprian Association of Qualified KIE Teachers states that “it is not 100”, as OELMEK states in its letter, but fewer, according to their information.
He adds that “this issue, along with others related to the program, will be discussed by the Ministry of the Interior, the trade unions and the representatives of the program, in the context of the modernization and upgrading of the KIE”.
Finally, he states that “OELMEK can proceed with a dialogue with the Minister of Education, for the issues that concern it, but the issues of the KIE will continue to are discussed exclusively by the trade unions that represent us and have the authority for this”.
Source: KYPE
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