Lack of rationalization in the field of public education, resulting in the non-effective and efficient use of public resources, the Audit Service finds in its report on the topic “Rationalization of public education expenditures”.
In the report it is stated that “despite the announcements to take measures to remove any distortions, in practice, not only has there been no limitation in teacher salary expenses, but on the contrary the need to hire additional staff continues every year, especially in secondary education” .
It is also noted that there has been no legislative regulation of the regime of teacher exemptions from teaching time and there is a weakness in decision-making and actions for rationalization, a vertical reduction of teacher secondments and optimal utilization of human resources in the Ministry of Education.
The Audit Service reports that the issue of concessions and secondments needs legislative regulation, so that it is clearly clarified in which cases teachers may be granted concessions, but also for how long.
It is recommended that the Ministry of Internal Affairs proceed in a fundamental re-evaluation and taking drastic measures, for rationalization in the public primary and secondary education sector, with the aim of effective and efficient utilization of public resources and removing the distortions that lead to the annual need to hire additional educational staff, mainly in secondary education.
Another recommendation is for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take decisions from the ground up, with the help of experts, to re-evaluate its operation and administration, so that there is rationalization, a vertical reduction of postings and overall the number of employees in the administration, optimal utilization of human resources potential and modernization of its mode of operation and management. At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior should find ways that will lead to the improvement of the learning performance of the students of Cyprus.
The report states, among other things, that “compared to the size of other European Ministries of Education, the Cyprus Ministry appears to have a large number of staff.
It is noted that the education administration system is highly centralized, with a large central Ministry, with 717 staff managing a sector of 12,065 teachers (ratio 1 to 17) and 144,000 students (ratio 1 to 201). “These ratios are very high, compared to other European countries and may indicate a deficiency in the system”.
As stated, the Ministry has 14 departments (some of which include various services), which report directly to the Director General, who is the control officer.
“This places a heavy administrative burden on the Director-General's office and therefore limits the time available for policy implementation, strategic planning, program development and evaluation. A number of departments appear to have a large number of staff for the relevant few functions assigned to them, compared to corresponding departments in other countries.The Ministry has a highly centralized system and a top-down approach to management (Top-Down Approach).It was suggested to reduce number of departments and services directly reporting to the General Manager, so that he can play his role more strongly in terms of strategic leadership and reduce his administrative burden”, EY notes.
< p>It also states that “as additional responsibilities have arisen or new activities have begun, existing structures have been stretched to accommodate the additional work. This has led to duplication and fragmentation of functions, a lack of policy, strategy and quality assurance to focus on in the core functions of the Ministry and the strong emphasis on administrative and operational affairs, many of which could be transferred to the District offices and schools”.
EY also notes that for now, the seconded teachers play a very important role in the staffing of the Ministry, making up 257 out of a total of 717 staff members. These secondments give teachers the opportunity to learn more about the field and allow the Ministry to benefit from the practical knowledge the teachers have.
But, he adds, the large number of seconded teachers who are hired on short-term contracts to fill needed gaps in the Ministry and lack the essential skills, training and/or public service experience shows that it is time to review the usefulness of this practice.
“If the structure of the Ministry and the definition of its functions changes, according to the proposals of this report, then it will be necessary to recruit more civil servants with the appropriate qualifications and experience. Over time, the number of of seconded teachers in the Ministry will reduce, although a certain number of seconded positions will be maintained to give the opportunity to a limited number of teachers to experience the experience of working in the Ministry of Education”, the report states.
The report suggests that the staff of the Ministry should be made up of suitably qualified civil servants, who will be hired based on the terms and conditions of employment of the public service. He notes that the appointment of seconded teachers will continue to be important, as the Ministry will transition to a new way of working and a new structure, and it is suggested that seconded and other teachers can apply for the vacant positions.
As reported, the Ministry continues to employ a significant number of seconded teachers, despite the reduction in the year 2021/22, due to the recruitment of 44 permanent Public Servants as Educational Planning Officers (EPOs). Also, the Ministry by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, no. 81.604, date 15.11.2016, proceeded to adopt a new administrative structure and its staffing, in which further changes were made within 2020, which, however, has not brought significant changes to the need to employ seconded teachers.
EY reports that “the Ministry of the Interior should, without further delay, take a decision on a fundamental, with the help of experts, re-evaluation of its operation and administration, based on the World Bank's remarks and recommendations, so that there can be rationalization, vertical reduction of postings and overall number of employees in the administration of the Ministry of Health, optimal utilization of human resources and modernization of the way of operation and management of the Ministry of Health”.
