Tomorrow, Tuesday, the Council of Ministers is expected to approve the proposal for teacher evaluation, Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Dr. Athena Kyriakidou said today, adding that the issue will then go to Parliament, in order to "give society what children and teachers truly deserve."
In statements during her visit to the St. George High School in Larnaca and when asked about the issue of teacher evaluation, for which there seems to be quite a lot of reactions, the Minister of Education responded that "there have been reactions for 50 years and if we let them stop us, our educational system will never move forward. Let's move effectively and decisively to the next step and let society and each of us be judged."
It is, he said, "a demand of society. We don't have any more time, the existing education system has been in place for 49 years, it has reached a standstill, so we will move forward here too, we will overcome any difficulties so that we can all give society what our children and teachers truly deserve because it is a system that fully respects the teacher."
When asked when the teacher evaluation is expected to be put into operation, he replied that "our proposal is expected to be approved by the Council of Ministers tomorrow and then it will go to Parliament," adding that "we will inform the parties and we will all take a position in Parliament."
Asked about the issue of installing air conditioners in schools, the Minister said that "within the framework of the planning we have had since the beginning of our duties and the plan that exists for the installation of air conditioners in all schools in the three years, this year emphasis was placed on Lyceums so that Lyceum children, or almost all of them, can sit for their exams in air-conditioned classrooms. We have already given the statistics: until recently, we had 80% of Lyceums filled and 45% of all schools nationwide."
Therefore, he continued, "the bet with the air conditioners is won" and thanked the President of the Larnaca School Board and the people of the Ministry, namely the District Inspector and the Director of Agios Georgios Lyceum.
As the Minister stated, "we really see in Larnaca the schools that have been left (to install air conditioning) progressing so that the bet is won in Larnaca, as well as in Paphos. Therefore, we are completing the bet of the whole of Cyprus with all the provinces". She noted that "the great work of air conditioning is not being completed now, but in three years and that is when we will be judged whether we have done our job properly or not and we are already extremely optimistic".
Dr. Michaelidou explained that “it is not a simple process, it is a difficult process because it does not simply involve the installation of air conditioners, it involves a complete reconstruction of the buildings, an electromechanical approach to the issue that had never been done before.” Therefore, she said, “superhuman efforts have truly been made, especially to be able to satisfy the children who will be taking the exams.”
Our message to everyone, said the Minister of Education, "is not to worry about the issue of the Pancyprians and also to look ahead with optimism to the future that this project has begun, is progressing and will be completed with the best standards, with our first concern being the safety of our children."
When asked about the issue of installing cameras and security guards in schools, Dr. Michaelidou replied that "we have gradually and on a pilot basis begun these actions to address delinquency. I hereby declare that the Ministry's job is prevention, educating children so that we do not reach these points."
Nevertheless, he noted, "and due to the phenomena we see mainly in older children and mainly during non-school hours, we protect the school's property, we have security and we have also begun installing cameras."
When asked about the issue of juvenile delinquency, the Minister of Education said that "we have already started a plan with preschool education. The systems that have invested in the behavior and democratic politics of children, in mutual respect, in respect and love for their school start very early, they do not wait for the Lyceum and the Technical School to act."
We started with Preschool Education, he said, "we put in place intervention programs but also throughout the entire educational system, we have made sure to have programs with teachers, workshops with students, we have a very specific action plan with the team for delinquency within the school. It takes time for all of this to work and, above all, to trust our teachers who do an excellent job."
He also noted that "from the Police statistics, it appears that the school functions as a compensatory measure, meaning that where there is no family to support the child, the school supports it."
When asked whether there is cooperation with the Police, Dr. Michaelidou responded positively and added that "there is cooperation with the Police, with the Ministry of Health, the Mental Health Services, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, because it is a multifactorial phenomenon that starts with the family - no lies - and the school functions as a compensatory mechanism."
For her part, Yianna Nikolaou, President of the Larnaca School Board, said that "a huge race is underway, which will reach the finish line successfully so that on June 6 all children can write in air-conditioned classrooms. Two schools have already been completed and we are continuing at a very fast pace to complete the project of installing air conditioners in the Lyceums."
Then, he added, "we will continue with the remaining schools as planned. This process is being carried out simultaneously, but special emphasis has been placed on high schools."
Regarding the issue of installing cameras in schools, Ms. Nikolaou said that "they have already been installed in three schools in Larnaca and from what things show, the system is working. Damages and incidents outside of school hours have been reduced, since 90-95% of what happens is in the afternoon, when schools are closed."
He described "the messages from the use of cameras as very positive, and where cameras are installed, security guards are removed. We are in the process of bidding for the remaining six schools, and with the start of the new school year, they will be installed in them as well."
As he explained, "the selection of schools was made based on the statistics on the damage that has been done to educational institutions. We started with the three most difficult ones and the rest will follow. We hope that all schools in Cyprus will be covered with security cameras," he noted.
During the visit, the Minister of Education also visited the classrooms of St. George's High School where she spoke with students who had sat for exams.
Source: KYPE
