The government’s policies are dangerous for public education

 

The General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou met with the leadership of Primary school teacher’s trade union (POED)

4 November 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

AKEL’s long-standing and consistent support for public schools was reiterated by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou at a meeting with the leadership of POED. The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Education Policy Bureau of AKEL and AKEL MP Christos Christofides.

During the meeting, the government’s plans for the expansion of pre-primary education, with the subsidisation of tuition fees in private kindergartens, were discussed, where it was concluded that the positions of AKEL and POED coincide. As Stefanos Stefanou stressed, AKEL strongly supports expanding pre-primary education downwards in age, which, however, must be done in the correct direction. He expressed his vehement disagreement with the government’s policy to subsidise the tuition fees of children under 4 years and 8 months old in private kindergartens, stressing the need to strengthen and preserve public schools.

Stefanos Stefanou assured POED that during the plenary of the bill providing for the extension of pre-primary education, AKEL will table an amendment to ensure that compulsory free pre-primary education is provided in public schools and not with vouchers for private sector education.

As the General Secretary of AKEL stressed, the issue is important not only for pre-primary education, but for all levels of education, as if the voucher approach were to continue, the public education system risks being dismantled.