Education minister presents teacher appointment reforms as unions prepare protest

Nicosia, Cyprus. Education Minister Athena Michaelidou on Tuesday presented the government’s latest plan to reform teacher appointments to trade union leaders after months of disagreement. She said she did not expect full agreement, while secondary school teachers’ union Oelmek indicated that a protest planned for Thursday was likely to proceed.

Changes to appointment lists

Michaelidou said the reforms would effectively remove 40,000 people from the list of potential appointees, leaving only those who had served in the education system during the past five years.

She said she expected “no problem” in hiring teachers once the changes were implemented and argued that the employment prospects of those already working in the system would improve. Teachers currently ranked low on the list would have better opportunities to secure permanent posts, she added.

“It cleans up, if I may use the term, the list,” she said.

Written examinations and union disagreement

Michaelidou said applicants seeking permanent teaching posts would be required to take written examinations, stressing that “there is no other legal way”.

“If this is the only reason for the protests, the trade unions should think again,” she said.

She also criticised the timing of the planned demonstration, saying the ministry was surprised that protests had been announced before teachers had seen the proposed changes.

Referring to both the appointment proposals and evaluation reforms, she said the government was making reforms and adjustments and did not expect full agreement.

“It would be strange if we had a full agreement,” she said, adding that the ministry’s planning focused not on the present but on “tomorrow, the future of this place, our children”.

Oelmek to prepare detailed response

Oelmek leader Costas Constantinou said an initial assessment suggested that serious concerns remained.

“At first glance, it seems that there are still serious issues which concern us, and it seems at first glance that our protest will proceed as planned,” he said.

Constantinou added that the unions expected to receive the full text of the proposal. Once they had received it, they would meet and prepare a detailed written response.