With serious objections from both teachers and students, the debate on the revision of the regulations of the Pancyprian Examinations opened today before the Education Committee of the Parliament,[/B] just two months before the end of the school year, while the immediate determination of the timetables for the examinations is a burning issue.
The revision of the regulations was deemed necessary, as this year the process of the final examinations of senior students is separated from the process of the examinations for admission to higher and higher educational institutions in Cyprus and Greece.
The Pancyprian Examinations are proposed to begin during the first ten days of June, with the aim to be completed by the end of the month, followed by the examinations for unexamined students. The Ministry's proposal to extend the exams until the first days of July, however, seems to stumble on the fact that June 30 is the last working day for teachers for the school year.
The Ministry of Education presented a proposal to modernise and update the text of the regulations from 2017, both on issues related to personal data, special education and tutorials, and on procedural issues (invigilators, control committee, exam essay reviser).
The setting of the dates for the start of the examination period makes the adoption of the regulations urgent, since the second quarter ends on 13 May and the preparation process for the Pancyprian Examinations should proceed. Both the OELMEK and members of the Education Committee appeared to favour completing the discussion on the timetable issue so that the examinations could be held, postponing the discussion on the revision of the remaining regulations to a later stage.
Objections from OELMEK and spikes for detachment of the Pancyprians from the Education System
OELMEK objected to 12 points of the bill presented by the Ministry of Education and the Examinations Service, stressing that there was no consultation on the drafting of this text.
The president of the organisation, Kostas Hatzisavas, said at the meeting that teachers are against the inclusion of "other public officials", apart from teachers, in the probation process. In fact, he criticized the Ministry's intention to detach the conduct of the Pancyprian Examinations from the Education System.
OELMEK is also opposed to the replacement of the two-member Review Committee (for evaluating the scoring of papers) with a single reviewer. Hajisavas said, further, that the proposed change to send the examination papers in digital format to the examination centres, so that they can be multiplied there, instead of being multiplied inside the hotel where the subjects' committee also meets, in order to avoid leakage of subjects, and distributed to the examination centres with security escort.
Supporting the positions of the PESEM, the OELMEK also expressed its disagreement with the inclusion of a provision that defines as candidates for the Pancyprian Examinations only those students who have successfully completed their education, as this excludes unexamined students who may receive their diplomas after the Pancyprian Examinations. It was stated that this discriminates against Cypriot students, as Cypriot nationals residing abroad can sit for the exams, even if they are about to obtain a diploma.
Serious objections, however, were raised by bodies and organisations for people with disabilities, autism and learning difficulties, who pointed out that under the revision, no adjustments are made to ensure equal access to the exams for all children. In response to the observation by the Office of the Commissioner of Administration of discrimination against a student with disabilities, it was pointed out that both he and other students with difficulties in speaking, writing, reading or other skills are not facilitated to take the National Examinations.
The President of the Committee and DIKO MP, Pavlos Mylonas, stressed that the issue must be settled immediately, so that the Pancyprian Examinations are not in the air. According to him, both the concerns regarding the timetable, the participation or not of the unexamined and who will be the invigilators and correctors of the papers, as well as whether civil servants will be used to supervise the exams, must be discussed. He suggested that un-appointed teachers as well as hourly staff from the Ministry's evening programmes should be utilized in the invigilators
He stressed that the issue should be concluded at the next meeting as the conduct of the examinations depends on it. "From this discussion we serve the children first and foremost, neither the Ministry, nor the unions, nor our parties," he said, adding that if this is taken into consideration, the problems and procedures needed to provide solutions will be reduced.
On the issue of persons with disabilities, he said there should be prior consultation between the Ministry of Education and the Office of the Commissioner of Administration, as Parliament cannot have a coordinating role in such a debate.
DISY MP, Giorgos Karoullas, said that "the Ministry has rightly presented a bill to revise the regulations of the Pancyprian Examinations to harmonise them with the regulations of secondary schools". The aim, he said, is to ensure the credibility and impartiality of the examinations, as well as the proclaimed rights of persons with disabilities. He stressed that the debate should stay "away from verbal extremes" and be conducted "creatively, always for the benefit of children".
AKEL MP Christos Christofias conveyed the belief that "this bill completes the educational crime that has started to take place in recent years at the expense of secondary school pupils". He said that once again, this year's final year students are being victimized, while he accused the Ministry of Education of authoritarianism and sloppiness in not consulting on the bill. "We asked for the bill to go back and only the provisions relating to the timetable for this year's exams to be considered," he added, adding that issues relating to subjects and invigilators, discrimination towards unexamined students, discrimination between Cypriot students abroad and in the Republic of Cyprus, as well as reasonable adjustments for children with disabilities, should be discussed later, after consultation.
PPP MP, Alekos Tryfonidis, said in his remarks that the proposals of the Ministry of Education concerned, converge on making corrections in order to preserve the validity and reliability of the examinations. He added, however, that "these changes to the legislation endanger the future and the academic year of many children" and that the Ministry should take into serious consideration the peculiar conditions prevailing due to the pandemic. He stressed that the planning of examinations, both quarterly and Pancyprian, as well as the preparation of the examination syllabus, should be a lever of help and support rather than pressure on students and teachers.
With regard to students with disabilities, he noted that "both under the UN Convention and in accordance with the recommendations of the Commissioner for Administration, it is imperative that there be equal access to the Pancyprian Examinations, without discrimination, with appropriate reasonable adjustments and with differentiation of the standardized test. "Children with special needs must have equal access and equal opportunities with other children," he concluded."
University disciplinary regulations to control academics are urgent
The discussion on University disciplinary regulations continued today at the same meeting of the House Education Committee. The aim, said Committee Chairman Pavlos Mylonas, is to complete the debate at the next meeting so that in 15 days the regulations can be submitted before the plenary.
"The issue of the return of a convicted academic to TEPAK is open and is of great concern to us because it is a gap that we need to fill as soon as possible," Mylonas said.
DISY MP, Giorgos Karoullas, said for his part that the issue of disciplinary regulations of Cyprus' public universities needs further meticulous consideration and discussion, "especially in providing for the handling of offences involving honesty or moral turpitude, so as to ensure both justice and the protection of academic staff through authoritative, legal opinions" and confirmed that the aim is to pass them in the near future.
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
