Disengage education from IMF and World Bank dictates

 Statement by Christos Christophides, Head of the Education Office of the C.C. of AKEL 

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 9th April 2014, Nicosia

 

The new Minister of Education should immediately address some critical priorities on education issues. A year has already been wasted, during which, apart from the efforts to dismantle all the work done by the previous government, very few things have been done.

1. The Ministry of Education and its policy must disengage themselves from the dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Report. We recall that both the World Bank report and the processes shaping the final version of the report are being kept as a closely guarded secret, without the political parties, the staff of the Ministry of Education, teachers and all those involved in education, having any knowledge and briefing whatsoever. The argument of the Ministry of Education that the report is not finalised and that this is the reason why no one is being briefed is completely wrong. It is precisely now during the formulation of the final report, if that is the case, that the involvement of all is demanded.

2. The Ministry of Education should immediately promote the education reform. So far the government’s efforts in relation to education reform have been focused on the attempts to dismantle its various aspects on the pretext of conducting an assessment. A scientific-cantered and participatory process with regards education reform should be adopted.

3. The Ministry of Education must address immediately the needs of schools and especially our school students. Both the leadership of OELMEK (Note: the teachers trade union for secondary education), and other educational organizations, students and parents, are describing the situation in our schools as extremely bleak. AKEL has, for a year now, been elaborating and submitting very specific proposals on this issue; proposals are unused by the Ministry of Education.

AKEL will continue to table concrete proposals. We recall the recent proposal of AKEL for the operation of summer schools, an institution that will address pressing social problems. We await the reaction of the Ministry of Education to this proposal