The Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Mrs Athina Michailidou, participated today in the work of the EU Council of Ministers responsible for Education, in Brussels. The Council was chaired by the Swedish Minister for Schools, Ms Lotta Edholm.
At the beginning of the meeting of Education Ministers, a minute's silence was observed in memory of the victims of the tragedy in Tempe.
Education Ministers exchanged views on the role of high quality teachers in the success of the European Education Area. In particular, they referred to the problem of teacher shortages and the efforts made to attract and retain qualified teachers and trainers in national education systems. In her intervention, Ms Michaelidou said that the Cypriot Government, by setting quality criteria, had established a merit-based appointment system aimed at attracting the most suitable, qualified and competent teachers. Furthermore, she noted that a targeted policy for the professional development of teachers is being implemented, focusing on the school unit, stressing the need for a modern and reliable evaluation system, which will contribute to the feedback and training of teachers, but also to the creation of new career paths and career advancement.
The Education Minister did not fail to highlight the importance of European cooperation, noting Cyprus' participation in European initiatives such as the pilot programme Ms Michailidou also stressed that the exchange of good practices is always useful and that Cyprus is ready to provide expertise on professional learning for teachers.
During the Council's work, Conclusions on skills and competences for the green transition were adopted. The Conclusions reflect the role of initial and continuing vocational training, higher education and adult education in upgrading the skills and competences required for the green and digital transition, with the ultimate aim of meeting the needs of the labour market and responding to the challenges of the transformation of professions.
Ministers attended a working lunch where they had the opportunity to exchange views on ways of integrating displaced teachers from Ukraine into the education system.
