By Hector Georgiou
With tensions running high and schools disrupted by strikes, all eyes are on Parliament today as lawmakers prepare to open an article-by-article debate on the Education Ministry’s new teacher evaluation bill.
Committee Chairman Pavlos Mylonas said the discussion will go ahead unless a majority of the Education Committee votes otherwise at the last minute. “Everyone must take responsibility,” he told the Cyprus News Agency, hinting at the political stakes behind the scenes.
Education Minister Athina Michaelidou delivered a similar message, saying the time has come for all sides to own their decisions. “We cannot remain tied to outdated views and trade-union demands,” she said.
No compromise after months of talks
Despite months of discussions, the bill was first introduced to the committee in June; the ministry and teachers’ unions have failed to find common ground. That stalemate has triggered today’s strike by secondary school union OELMEK.
48,000 students caught in the middle
In a last-ditch attempt to defuse tensions, lawmakers even shifted the timing of today’s session. But OELMEK refused to back down, warning of further measures. Teachers will strike from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m. today, with members gathering outside Parliament at 9:00 to deliver a memorandum to the House Speaker.
The walkout has sparked frustration among parents and the government, with an estimated 48,000 students affected.
Primary teachers aren’t far behind. POED has already announced a work stoppage for Wednesday, November 26, if the committee proceeds with the article-by-article debate.
President: reforms will go ahead
Asked about the escalating standoff, President Nicos Christodoulides said the government is determined to push forward. “We are moving ahead with reforms,” he said, adding that the goal is to modernize a state structure dating back to 1960 “to better serve Cypriot citizens.”
He acknowledged the reactions, “perfectly respectable,” he said, but stressed that the political will must be shared by Parliament. The reform is tied to €60 million from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund, and the president warned that “not a single euro will be allowed to be lost.”
*Read the article in Greek here.
