Interview with the Head of the Education Affairs Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL Christos Christofides

 

• DISY’s hidden agenda in education has harmed the public school system
• Changes are needed for a modern and democratic school

Sunday 9 July 2023, “Haravgi” newspaper

QUESTION: Do you think that the changes in the way pupils are evaluated, as passed by the majority of the plenary of Parliament recently, are moving in the right direction?

CC: The majority of Parliament, except for DISY party that is, put an end to a pedagogical crime that was being committed against our pupils with the passing of the new regulations for a new pupil’s evaluation system. Quarterly examinations have destroyed the learning process, increased private tuition lessons, stress, anxiety, the race to catch up with the syllabus and learning by heart, and harmed the public school system. They only served the hidden agenda of the DISY government.

Before the end of his term of office the former Education Minister Mr. Prodromou confessed the hidden agenda of the Right, with the incredible statement that “not all children are suited for school”. I will give two more numbers that prove the hidden agenda of DISY in education: over the last five years we have had a 23% increase in pupils choosing private secondary schooling and a 45% increase in pupils choosing private primary education. It was the DISY government that deliberately damaged Public Schools.

With the new evaluation system things are put on a more pedagogically and scientifically correct footing. Not all the problems of the public school system have been solved, of course, but an important step forward has been taken. DISY accused the Minister of Education from the podium of Parliament of following the policy of AKEL. The truth is that what we have been saying for so many years, often on our own, given that the leaderships of DIKO, EDEK and others supported the government of DISY, turned out to be correct and scientifically vindicated.

QUESTION: The termination of the purchase for services scheme is a matter of great concern, as there are fears that many people who used to work in programmes of the Ministry of Education and Science will be out of work. Is there a way to ensure that these people are safeguarded?

CC: Turning thousands of young education workers into a “purchase of services” is another of the pedagogical and labour crimes committed by the DISY government. It was an inhumane and illegal decision that stole working people’s wages and caused unimaginable suffering to thousands of teachers. The decision to abolish the illegal purchase of services system after 10 years of struggles with AKEL’s support and many times at the forefront of the struggle and the decisions of the courts forced the Christodoulides government (who as a member of the previous government supported the unacceptable purchase of services scheme) to proceed with the abolition of this illegal form of employment.

We have made it clear from the very first moment that through this process we will not accept employees who have been earning a living and working for years in these programmes of the Ministry of Education, to suddenly find themselves out of work. We have been informed by the class-based trade union federation of PEO and by the working people themselves, with whom we are in constant contact, that due to the government’s decisions hundreds of workers are at risk of being out of work. I have stated from the podium of the House of Representatives: such a move is a cause for conflict for us. We are awaiting to be briefed officially by the Minister of Education and will act accordingly.

QUESTION: What are your expectations for our education system?

CC: Education is a very difficult subject and particularly charged for one simple reason: it answers the question of what kind of person and what kind of citizen do we want to nurture. The prevailing view in recent years has been that they wanted to create obedient people who should be good cogs in the economic machine of the system. People unhappy, familiar with coercion and oppression. They also had another goal: the children of the popular and middle strata to fail or remain in mediocrity, so that the ruling elites could continue to perpetuate and monopolize their power, with their children and grandchildren, securing their economic, political and social domination.

Our own vision is to create free, happy, critical thinking and creative people. People who will be democratic and participatory citizens and have the modern skills that our times demand. People who will analyse, engage in synthesis, create, cooperate and produce thought. For us it is important that children are happy. Unhappy children create a failed society with huge social and economic problems. All children must have truly equal opportunities and the education system should encourage social mobility. It should also cultivate tolerance, acceptance, assertiveness and respect. This is the person we want to develop and nurture, this is our vision for our country’s Education.