Press Conference by the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou on AKEL’s proposals on Education
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 10th April 2021, Nicosia
The core question that the education system of any state must answer is what personalities and what kind of citizens does it seek to shape for society. Our own vision is the creation of a humane and democratic school that will unleash our children’s creative and intellectual potential, but also feelings. It is developing people who will be useful to society as a whole, sensitive to society’s needs and useful to the economy. An education system that will strengthen justice, equality, meritocracy and human values against racism, social discrimination, fascism and intolerance.
Today society as a whole recognises that the Anastasiades-DISY government has damaged the public school system and taken our education far backwards. This reality is understood much better by teachers, students and their parents. It is perhaps the first government to launch an organized attack on the public school system which provoked the unprecedented mass mobilizations by teachers about 2 years ago. The Education Ministry’s anachronistic connection with the Archbishop, the conservatism and authoritarianism they are trying to impose, the implementation of economic neoliberal measures have all weakened the public education system and set it back years.
The outbreak of the pandemic has revealed all the big weaknesses, leading to phenomena unprecedented for our society: children excluded from the educational process for a long time because of their socio-economic situation and their inability to have access to technology, children with disabilities expelled from schools and schools remaining closed for a long time with the government’s sloppiness and lack of planning the main characteristic feature.
For that reason, if we really want to change our society for the better we must first change our education system for the better. To nurture and instill in our children principles and values; ideals to accompany them throughout their lives. To teach them to think in a critical manner and not to be a mere obedient cog in the system.
In order to realise this objective, there must be a vision, but also specific proposals for its implementation at all levels of education. We want to provide a university education with high quality levels, where each university will be truly autonomous, develop research and innovation and advance our higher education to internationally competitive levels.
As AKEL we have already elaborated and submitted to the government, as well as publicly, coherent proposals for the modernization of specialised education, evening and technical schools. We have formulated structured positions on critical issues such as the evaluation of students and teachers. A Party delegation delivered all our specific proposals to the Minister of Education too after he took office. At the same time, we are participating in the parliamentary elections with a program of specific proposals and positions on education, which can demonstrably significantly improve our education. Our priorities are:
– The modernization of specialised education with the formulation of new, modern and human-centred legislation. The strengthening of specialised schools and of special units in schools so as to achieve the effective integration of our children with disabilities in schools.
– The development of the all-day compulsory school with a common comprehensive timetable and its extension to secondary education.
– Abolition of the illegal and anachronistic custom of the purchase of services in education. This illegal and unacceptable employment regime imposed during the Anastasiades-DISY government victimizes hundreds of teachers in various programs of the Ministry of Education. At the same time, it generates problems to these programs.
– Increase funds for research and the coverage of all scientific subjects so that university research as a whole contributes to the strengthening of Cypriot society and the economy.
– Greater support of children with learning disabilities, foreign language students and children from lower socio-economic strata so that we can achieve real equality of opportunities in our education system and ensure that no child is abandoned on the margins.
We ask for the Cypriot people’s vote because AKEL has been the most important defender of the public school system in recent years. Because both inside and outside Parliament we have consistently promoted our vision for a humane and democratic school. Because we have submitted specific proposals and suggestions based on our philosophy for a modern educational system that will unleash our children’s potential. Because we do not want obedient servants of the system, but instead young people with a point of view who seek participation.
