The issue, which has been raised by the AKEL parliamentary group in the Committee, was discussed today, with the proposal to draft a letter supported by a majority of the body, while objections were expressed by the DISY side. Following the decision to send the letter, the issue will be discussed again next Wednesday before the committee.
DISY MP George Karoullas said after the meeting that his party has disagreed with the sending of the letter and has expressed reservations as, he said, the English School is governed by private law, with its own regulations. "We believe that any employment issue that arises is dealt with in collaboration and dialogue with the services of the Ministry of Education. He added that "it is only through dialogue that solutions aimed at the unhindered operation of the School can be found and formulated."[/I]
[/P]In statements after the meeting, AKEL MP Christos Christofides said that "the majority of the Department of Labour and Social Insurance of the Faculty of Law and Social Insurance of the University of Athens is not in favour of the School."[/I][/B]
Education decided to send a letter to the Board of Directors of the School and to the Presidency of the Republic, which appoints the Board and by extension has the political responsibility, in order to stop unilateral and vindictive actions and to start a serious and constructive dialogue, with the aim of the good of the School and the children attending it". As he explained, the letter will be sent through the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as is the appropriate procedure.[/P]Christofides said in his remarks that the House of Assembly has crossed half of the funds allocated to the English School, to monitor the development of issues at the School,[/B] adding that "this money has never come to be requested, at the same time that they are imposing increases in the School's fees." In response to a reporter's question, he said that 13 layoffs of faculty employees[/B] are proposed for financial reasons, and wondered what management was done in the finances to get to the point where so many layoffs were required. At the same time, he said, disciplinary cases are also being considered with a view to leading to dismissals.
He also said that although the operation of the School is governed by private law, he noted that "the Board is appointed by the President, receives a lot of money from the state, uses buildings associated with the state and our view is that not everyone there can do what they want, violating basic rules of ethics, good governance or even human rights in terms of the right to participate in a guild."
Finally, he appealed to the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Education, as well as the administration of the School, "to stop unilateral and vindictive actions, in order to restore calm and normality in the School".
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvidis, said the letter would call on the parties involved in the English School case "to sit down and work things out". He stressed that "the students should not be victimized again, with understanding a solution can be found."
[/P]Savvidis also referred to the article discussion that took place in the Committee regarding aspects of the operation of the School of Tourism in Paphos. He explained that particular emphasis was placed on the issue of offering programmes for professional qualifications, both in the Greek language and in another foreign language, English or another, depending on the number of students interested in studying in another language.
Finally, he referred to a proposal submitted by himself and the President of the Committee, Pavlos Mylonas, concerning the scholarships granted by the IKY, in order to cover distance learning students. "We tabled this amendment so that it can be discussed at the next meeting with colleagues and we can decide whether to include it in the proposal to be presented to the plenary, or whether to put it before the plenary vote," he said."
Source: CNA
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