If the government doesn’t change its behavior it will provoke a new crisis in education

Statement by the AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 4 October 2018, Nicosia

The Anastasiades-DISY Government arbitrarily and arrogantly insists on implementing the measure for exams every four-months that everyone disagrees with, whether they disagree on the substance or with its application because they know that the Ministry of Education isn’t ready and able to implement it.

The government doesn’t seem to have learnt any lessons from the crisis in education that we all saw for three months, a crisis which was the result of its unilateral decisions. It continues to disregard and ignore society and the involved parties in education. It insists on the implementation of the measure for exams every four months, rather than entering into a dialogue with a willingness to engage in a genuine dialogue.

If the government’s doesn’t change its behavior, as well as its approaches and policies, the Anastasiades-DISY government will provoke a new crisis in Education.

AKEL disagrees with the four months exam measure, because – in our view – the logic of continuous examinations in schools is being promoted. We believe that the wider issue of pupils’ assessment needs to be the subject of a serious and wider scientific debate which should be based on pedagogical facts and the positive practices in countries with advanced educational systems.