Today, the students of Lyceums and Technical Schools abstain from their lessons for two hours
Parents, students and some teachers demand postponement of the passing of the law for the exams every four months and the separation of the Pancyprians
Organized parents and students of Lyceums and Technical Schools are going on a two-hour break from the third and fourth teaching period, after the response of the Education Committee that the dialogue on the operating regulations of Secondary Schools will not be extended for three months, as requested by the Federation. Parents.
Insurance valves
Speaking to "Simerini", the President of the Pancyprian Federation of Parents of Secondary Education pointed out that "the negative response to the postponement of the voting of the regulations left them no choice but to proceed with stricter measures".
According to the President of the Organized Parents, "what they are asking for is a three-month postponement of the voting of the regulations, which will be forwarded for voting in the plenary session of the House of Representatives tomorrow, so that the dialogue can continue and insurance safeguards can be secured. the issues on which there are still disagreements, both from the organized parents and from the parliamentary parties ".
In this regard, Mr. Koulermos commented that, from time to time, when the organized parents had meetings with the parliamentary parties, it was found that there are several points in the operating regulations of the Secondary Schools with which the parties do not fully agree, hence it is expected that amendments to the regulations will be tabled in Friday's plenary session.
"This fact", commented Mr. Koulermos, "justifies the concerns we had as organized parents, since due to the many amendments that are expected to be tabled, we do not know how the regulations will be formulated".
For example, the single high school
Mr. Koulermos even cited as an example a series of reforms that were made from time to time in the education system, which proved to be ineffective, due to the lack of proper evaluation. In fact, he specifically referred to the institution of the unified high school, which replaced the sectoral high school a few years ago.
"The unified high school failed as an institution, because it was not evaluated correctly and that is why last year we brought the branches back to the high school," said Mr. Koulermos, adding that we do not want the exams every four months, as well as the separation of Pancyprians. Exams.
Asked if there will be events during the abstention, Mr. Koulermos pointed out that the students will remain inside the school building, adding that statements to the media will be made at 10 in the morning, by the Lyceum Ethnomartyr Kyprianou, while it will be read and a related reading that will explain the reasons for the protest.
Finally, Mr. Koulermos pointed out that, tomorrow, a delegation of organized parents will have a meeting with the Speaker of Parliament, Dimitris Syllouris, to which a relevant memorandum will be delivered.
The students are on the side of the parents
The Pancyprian Student Coordinating Committee (PSEM) also sided with the organized parents, which, in a relevant announcement yesterday, expressed its support for the organized parents' struggle. Specifically, PSEM claims that "the student movement expressed from the first moment its vertical disagreement with the transformation of the school into a large examination center, with students chasing degree and not knowledge."
"The Ministry constantly says that the material, stress and workload of us students will be reduced. We live it every day and we know that the knowledge and the teaching order of the courses cannot be cut in two. We must mention that none of our teachers assures us that there will be no competitions.
The result will be one, even more tutorials, even more pressure. "So, instead of taking steps forward, we are taking steps and taking several steps back," the statement said.
The organized students "call, at the same time, all the students, supporting the struggle and the fair demands of the organized parents, as today they will hold, together with the parents, a protest event within the school unit".
"Our views were not taken into account"
The announcement of PSEM clarifies, at the same time, that although representatives of the students participated in the dialogue, nevertheless, their views were not taken into account. "We held a one-hour abstention, a referendum with 13.500 participants, school assemblies, district conferences, meetings with political parties, meetings with the Ministry and competent bodies, culminating in a 4-hour abstention from classes with a Pancyprian Protest outside Parliament," which characterizes today’s abstention as the culmination of the struggle.
Finally, PSEM points out that all students have the right to participate in the events of ESEM-PSEM where and where they are organized, which is ensured by the relevant operating regulations. Therefore, they call on the Central Student Councils and the District Student Coordinating Committees to inform in time the addresses of their schools about the above and especially about the specific provision of the school regulations, so that there are no absences.
Against and educational organizations
The educational groups Progressive Movement of Teachers, Democratic Movement of Teachers and New Breath for education are also against the implementation of the four-month exams. In a joint announcement issued yesterday, the educational organizations point out that with the specific Draft Regulations of the Ministry:
1. The school becomes a permanent examination center. The real goals of the public school are marginalized, undermining its democratic and human character.
2. The goals set by the Ministry are not achieved (eg reduction of competitions, reduction of stress and student pressure). Written assessments not only do not decrease but actually multiply, increasing the pressure and stress of students / three and parents.
3. Students will be required to take four-month exams for the 4 or 5 examined courses, depending on the Gymnasium / Lyceum class in which they attend, in just a few days, with the risk of giving one or even two courses each day. The suffocating schedules are expected to relieve the stress of students and parents, as the weight of the exams in the final grade increases from 30% to 40%.
4. An extremely stressful and burdensome school program is created, which in fact will have a negative impact on teachers, students and the operation of school units. The schedules that are set, which are practically impractical, are so suffocating that not only will they not work but they will cause entanglements and distortions in terms of procedures, scheduling of schoolwork and therefore the end result.
5. The teaching time is dramatically reduced, essentially converting the two four months into two quarters, at the same time that the volume of the teaching material increases. Therefore, teaching will have to be aligned with traditional teacher-centered models, as there will be no time for innovative student-centered approaches, for experiential and active forms of learning, for projects, etc.
In the light of the above, the educational organizations call on the deputies "to consider before the adoption of the Draft Regulations the consequences and side effects that the introduction of the four-month exams in the public school, to the students, parents and teachers will bring and to vote against them" .
Regulations are a product of dialogue
The firm position that the regulations that will be submitted to the House of Representatives for a vote on Friday are the product of an exhaustive dialogue, which began two years ago and was attended by all those involved, was expressed by the Minister of Education Costas Kadis. Speaking to "Simerini", Mr. Kadis pointed out that it would be good to let the democratic processes work properly, while expressing the view that there is still room for convergence.
Asked if the absence of those students who choose to abstain from classes will be considered justified, the Minister of Education answered in the negative, pointing out that the absence is unjustified. Finally, he called on the parents, even the last ones, to reverse their decision and act in a consensual manner.
Source: Sigma Live