On its own, the teachers' union, OELMEK, finally made an announcement regarding the appointment of the former Minister of Education, Kostas Hambiauri, as a member of the Educational Service Committee, characterizing the decision as a challenge for the educational world.
Specifically, in its announcement, OELMEK notes that “the appointment and new composition of the Educational Service Committee has caused great concern and disturbance in the educational world of Cyprus. Although the right of the President of the Republic to appoint the members of Independent Commissions is constitutionally guaranteed, however, it is evident, among other things, the absence of women, the absence of members representing the Secondary Education level, etc., a fact that causes, not for for the first time, questions about the method of selection and appointment of the members of the Educational Service Committee”.
He also notes that, “what angers and poses a challenge for the educational world of Cyprus is the appointment of the former Minister of Education Kostas Hambiauri. And this is because no one can forget his unacceptable, disparaging and insulting statements about the Public School, the teachers and their representatives in the Educational Organizations, whom he will now, among other things, evaluate from the position of the member of the Education Committee Service. As the whole society remembers, this attitude of his resulted in the strong reaction of the educational world, with unprecedented protest marches, which culminated in the magnificent march to the Presidential Palace in August 2018, in which more than 13,000 citizens (educators and non)”/
Catalytically, OELMEK warns that the appointment in question may disrupt the climate of cooperation of our Organization with the Educational Service Committee, while at the same time causing reasonable concern for the impartiality and objectivity of a member of the Committee, taking into account the duties and responsibilities of the EEY.
