The report and accountability for the last three years that I have been at the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, is inseparable from the work that has been implemented in education, culture, sports and youth issues throughout the decade and by my predecessors, Ministers Kostas Kadis and Kostas Hambiaouris.
The work of the Ministry has been unified, within the framework of the Governance Programme of the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Anastasiades. This governance has achieved so many things.
From the time the President took office and there was no more than 1-2 months' salaries in the state coffers, including teachers, until today when we see hundreds of millions in university education and research projects, a recovery plan with spending of almost €50 million. for building schools, an increase in the number of teachers in public education from 12 thousand in 2012/13 to 14 thousand this year, an increase of 17%, with investments for education of 100 million in the Cyprus Tomorrow Plan and schools moving into the digital age.
For two of the last three years we have been fighting the pandemic. Despite enormous difficulties, public schools have emerged as a bulwark against the threat. It was able to provide distance learning opportunities in a very short time, operated with health security and kept losses to a minimum, performing very well compared to other EU member states.We also took the opportunity to make a great leap forward in the use of technology and digital media, literally transforming the school. In this context, we owe thanks to the Minister of Health and the Scientific Advisory Committee.
Some of the most important achievements relate to the overall educational reform of President Anastasiades' Governance Programme, which has been promoted in parts for years, in accordance with decisions of the Parliament and legislation, and I believe that it should be continued in the next administration in order to have all the positive results.
But the creative reform policy is reflected in the very name of the Ministry, which today has been changed as a result of a historically important development, which is the creation, for the first time, of a separate state structure for culture. The State Ministry of Culture. After many processes and efforts - admittedly not without difficulties, but with a happy outcome - a separate government structure has been created for the first time in our country to take charge of culture and culture-related policy. The Deputy Ministry of Culture is already a reality and in a few months from now its structure will be completed with the inclusion of the Department of Antiquities, in accordance with the decisions of the Parliament.
I believe that a new era for culture policy is really beginning, since not only will efforts be more focused and the relevant programmes will be adjusted and improved, but there is also more room now to have policies and practices corresponding to the needs and the very large room for improvement.
Related Our country in these last five years has achieved more success and high performance than ever before, despite the mediation of the pandemic crisis that has greatly affected sport. At the same time, important innovations have been made, such as the development of an infrastructure programme and broad participation of the population.
Moving on to a review and accountability of the activities at the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MESY) in the last three years, from December 2019 until now, I will mention in general terms that. The public school has effectively entered the digital age. In fact, here I should underline the contribution of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and the very close cooperation we had with our colleague Deputy Minister, Kyriakos Kokkinos. First of all, within a short period of time, in 2020, schools were able to provide distance education, using digital media.
Since then, digital transformation has been a reality and has been systematically promoted through three major projects that we have been able to put in place and are currently underway:
- The e-Government of Schools project has been launched, at a cost of around 25 million euros, and by the start of the next school year it will have produced its first results and will be completed by 2025. All work and communications between parents and the school, pupils and teachers, management and teachers and parents, as well as all stakeholders in general, will be done electronically using a simple personal digital device. This drastically reduces bureaucracy and administrative costs, while at the same time modernising the operation of the school, ensuring greater convenience for pupils, teachers and parents.
- The contract for the creation of 6,600 digital classrooms in all schools is also in the process of being implemented. It is a project with an expenditure of 9 million euros, within the framework of the 'Cyprus_Tomorrow' plan, out of a total budget of 14 million euros. By the next school year the classrooms will have full digital capabilities and in combination with the sufficient Internet connection for all schools, which has been achieved in the past two years, they will be able to be used.
- In addition to school facilities, we are also making sure that all children have access to their own digital devices: this is the sponsorship scheme for 15,000 third and second grade students to obtain a tablet or laptop device.
While, it should be noted that since 2020, more than 100 thousand subscriptions have already been activated for the entire student and teacher population, for access to the electronic system of distance education of the Ministry of Education and Science. At the same time, a large number of teachers have been trained and a number of technological innovations and digital applications prepared at the Pedagogical Institute over the last two years are now available and are gradually being introduced in a horizontal approach to the curriculum and teaching practices in schools. As I also note some necessary amendments made to the legislation, but which will then have to be complemented by proposals already prepared in the Ministry.
2. More recently, I consider particularly significant the Government's decision, after many months of study, work and consultation-more than a year, so the parallel that some people draw with the timing of the elections-to end the practice of purchasing services for programmes in the Ministry of Public Works. These are 14 different programmes with quite distinctive features. For these needs, as shaped through the study that has been carried out, it is planned to offer employment contracts to teachers. Several hundred contracts. This programming has been approved by the Council of Ministers and should then be implemented by the Minister of Education, in cooperation, of course, with the Minister of Finance. The aim is both to respond to court decisions and to secure needs on a permanent basis, particularly in all-day schools and schools implementing the School and Social Inclusion Action Programme (SSI+).
Another major innovation planned to be implemented from the next school year is the replacement of the purchase of services method with the employment of teaching staff in all supplementary programmes of the Ministry of Education and Science. As there are many comments, mainly of a political nature, I would like to make some necessary clarifications here. This change has been accelerated on the basis of a number of relevant court decisions, which we are of course adopting. However, in order to be able to consider the possibility of providing a large number of additional contracts, as is the case with the recent decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, it was necessary for the country's economy and fiscal data to be reset beforehand. The service market method was a child of necessity in those years when the country was under a Memorandum in order to avoid bankruptcy of the economy. So after we won the recovery with the right policies and we now have a booming economic situation we could also consider giving education a large number of contracts for the appointment of teachers to staff either the schools under the DRASE+ Programme or the All Day Schools and so on. It took several months of study and preparation, after waiting for the siege and the pandemic to end. That is why I am glad that we had the opportunity at a recent Cabinet meeting to take the decision in principle to replace the purchase of services with contracts. It is a project that must now be put in place, in collaboration of course with the Ministry of Finance and certainly with the Education Service Commission, on the basis of all the groundwork and study that has been done by the Directorate General and staff of the Ministry - whom I thank for their efforts. However, it opens an era characterized by a more orderly and regular operation of the relevant programs of the Ministry of Education and a large number of qualified teachers, in accordance with the established procedures of competitions and lists, will be able to find employment contracts.
3. In higher and university education we have a real cosmogony. From about 33 thousand students that we had in Cyprus at the beginning of this administration, today we have more than 60 thousand. Almost doubled! Taking into account also the intense activity, with research projects attracting funding of hundreds of millions of euros, we can say that what was once a vision and a distant goal is now becoming a reality: we see our country as an international regional centre of university education. With 11 universities today, compared to 8 before at the beginning of the government, and a few more in the pipeline, and a large number of other higher education schools, as well as our two research institutes with postgraduate and doctoral studies, our country has a very remarkable higher education activity.
- But at the same time as this quantitative expansion, the government has also ensured quality, with the creation and operation of the DIPAE body.[/P]
- At the same time as this quantitative expansion, the government has ensured quality, with the creation and operation of the DIPAE body. Following these developments and in order to facilitate further development, we proceeded yesterday with the signing of the first transnational agreement on the mutual recognition of university degrees with Greece.
- Equally important is the consolidation and institutionalisation of higher education. The relevant legislative proposal for the modernization and adaptation of the institutional framework for schools of higher education to the new standards, in such a way that the qualitative characteristics and the proper functioning of this sector are even more ensured, is currently at the Legal Service for legislative drafting and will then be submitted to the Parliament for approval.
- Of great importance is also the transnational agreement between Cyprus and Greece on the mutual recognition of university degrees that we signed just yesterday with my colleague Mrs. Niki Kerameos. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the warm thanks I expressed to her yesterday in Athens. Thanks for our very close, close cooperation and for what we have achieved both on a bilateral level and through joint interventions in the context of the work of the EU Education Ministers, especially in the midst of the pandemic crisis. As befits the field of education, since Greece and Cyprus essentially share the same educational system. Our thanks and recognition naturally extend to the Deputy Minister, Angelos Syrigos, with whom we cooperated perfectly on the relevant transnational agreement and on other issues concerning the close relations in the field of higher education.
4. Vocational Education. Taking into account the generally acknowledged finding that our country needs more in the field of vocational education, we now have a credible proposal within the framework of the upgraded school of higher vocational education M.I.E.E.K. The new modern and properly equipped building in Limassol, which will henceforth be the headquarters of the School, has been completed and put into operation. I would also like to reiterate here our thanks to the A.I.T.E. Foundation for the donation for its construction (amounting to 8 million euros). On this occasion and taking advantage of the development that the system of Post-secondary Institutes has been quietly experiencing for about ten years, we are proceeding with its reorganization, activating provisions that already existed with a relevant study on its staffing and management structure. At the same time, work has also been done on the relevant certification of studies and the relevant titles/diplomas, and with special programming in line with the structures of Secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training, new prospects for development are opening up. It is also envisaged that after the completion of the relocation of the AIXIK, which is managed by the CTEPAK, the MIEK School will be able to use the premises that currently house the AIXIK in Nicosia.
- An important development in the field of vocational education was also the agreement between the Ministry and the CTEPAK, whereby the university has undertaken the operation and the overall upgrading of the CTEPAK, through relevant studies - and significant investments in facilities made by the Ministry.
Without a doubt, a new era is opening up for hotel vocational studies and training in hospitality and catering arts.
5. We have also made great strides for the Green Transition.
- Photovoltaic systems were installed in more than 400 school buildings and the corresponding insulation of roofs was carried out with funding from the "Cyprus for Tomorrow" project and to these are added another 114 schools in which photovoltaic systems have been installed as part of the building upgrade by the Technical Services of the Ministry. The cooperation programme with AHK for photovoltaic systems in over 400 schools was budgeted for 7.3 million
- The network of Environmental Education Centres throughout Cyprus was completed. So far the attendance at the Ministry's seven Environmental Centres has exceeded 200 thousand pupils, students, teachers and others. One of the last two centres will be inaugurated in the coming days, as the construction of one of the last two centres has now been completed.
- The PEDIA pilot project, launched with the support of the European Commission, is currently underway in 25 schools, aiming at interventions and improvements of a bioclimatic approach to achieve near-zero energy consumption in school buildings and then to be extended to a larger scale. [FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSFUL 9TH MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE UN COMMISSION FOR DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE ON ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, ORGANISED BY THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN NICOSIA LAST YEAR WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF MORE THAN 70 MINISTERS AND ALMOST 1000 PARTICIPANTS, THE GUIDELINES AND CONCLUSIONS FOR THE 2030 STRATEGY ARE BEING INCORPORATED INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION PROGRAMME THAT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED HORIZONTALLY IN OUR SCHOOLS. WITH THE EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM - TO NOTE THIS IN RECOGNITION OF THE EFFORTS MADE IN THE RELEVANT PI UNIT - BEING CONSIDERED AS AN EXAMPLE OF GOOD PRACTICE IN THE EUROPEAN AREA, AS DOCUMENTED IN THE LATEST EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORTS.
- Green schools: a basic thought and assumption is that since children receive systematic environmental education at school and are made aware of environmental practices horizontally throughout the curriculum and are now becoming aware of sustainable development issues, it is good that at a time when we see tree planting initiatives everywhere, an intervention to further green our schools should be systematised. In cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, as well as the Office of the Environment Commissioner, a relevant initiative has been developed. But the effort should be continued and systematized.
- The trial phase of introducing air purification systems in about one hundred classrooms has been successfully completed with good results and from now on the Ministry will move to general implementation in order to create greater comfort and improve the hygienic conditions in school premises.
- In a similar way, in cooperation with the special scientific committee set up and operating within the Ministry of Education and Science, in collaboration with external bodies, the results of both the PEDIA project and other indications should then be taken into account in order to implement the policy decisions taken on air conditioning in schools. The Technical Services of the MoE have completed the preliminary study and estimate on their side, with a total cost of around 100 million
6. Meritocracy in schools and the need for accountability of public education to society
- We want a school that promotes meritocracy and motivates and rewards effort. In order to promote a values-based education, of course, it is essential for meritocratic procedures to be applied and for there to be a reliable system of evaluation at all levels. This very important 'lesson', which is admittedly much needed in our country, cannot be confined to rhetorical declarations or even lectures. But it must pass through practice and experience itself, which, as we know, have a much more decisive influence on children.
- It is in this context that the major change that has taken place in recent years and continues to evolve in the selection of teachers through a competitive process. A great and very beneficial in its outlook reform. The relevant competition has already been organised three times, 2017, 2019, 2021; its positive impact is already being felt, despite the fact that the reform will be completed in 2027. More than three thousand teachers have reached the headquarters (either by permanent or contract appointment) in the last five years.
- Teacher and Teacher Evaluation Plan (including pupils, expanding the number of evaluators and scale, ensuring an independent secondary school)
- Pupil assessment :
Primary education with the implementation of the School Progress Report and Secondary education with assessment - legislative proposal to Parliament - use the results for redesigning programmes and guidelines and better orientation, more effective transition from primary to secondary education.
- Elimination of stagnation due to performance in secondary school: this reform should be adopted by Parliament.
- Comprehensive proposal for improving learning outcomes based on the data we have from the evaluation so far: to be submitted in the coming weeks, with detailed documentation and evidence and, I believe, should also guide decisions of the next government.
7. Multilingualism, two foreign languages at school in the context of the corresponding guidelines given by the EU; generalisation of the teaching of French across the whole range of secondary education. The signing of a transnational agreement with France for the official certification of knowledge based on the French system, always in the context of the very close French-Cypriot cooperation.
8. Language certification (English, French and agreement with the Greek Language Centre)
9. Full-day Interdisciplinary-Disciplinary Learning High School: an important innovation with very successful results that we have seen in recent months in the Pancyprian High School. The plan of the Ministry of Education and Science to extend the trial phase first to the Lanitio Gymnasium in Limassol from this school year and recently to one more school in each of the other cities from the next school year has been approved by the Council of Ministers. The final design and general implementation of the institution, depending always on the expression of interest, will then have to be done by the next government that can implement it on a nationwide scale.
The Full Day Gymnasium designed and operated focuses on alternative and innovative pedagogical methods, through an interdisciplinary/interdisciplinary approach, with the participation of children and the project-based learning method. It is not an addition to the morning program with the same components, but an extension that allows for the development of initiative and creativity, with no seat-based instruction or any homework provided. It is an enrichment of regular conventional education and an opportunity for children to open up new horizons both by approaching technology and science, along with the arts, the well-known S.T.E.A.M. program, and by cultivating Greek language, oral language and cultural projects.
10. All-day optional elementary schools. During the government the number has increased from 160 (2012/13) to 202 (2021/22) with the total number of students exceeding 7 thousand.
11. Regarding the institution of summer primary schools created during this administration, between 2014 and 2022, 32 new summer schools were created, an increase of 150%, with the number of pupils benefiting more than doubling from 2200 to 4550.
12. The Sports and Music Schools are also a very successful institution. During the 10 years of government it has also worked at the high school level in such a way that students in Music Schools have increased from 150 in 2012/13 to 538 in 2021/22, while students in Sports Schools have increased from 96 in 2012/13 to 860 in 2021/22.
13. Athletics competitions for primary schools: on the basis of a decision to bring back these athletics competitions, in cooperation with the COEAS, provincial and national athletics competitions are announced for primary schools this year. I hope that this proposal will be followed up in the next government for the development of sport in greater depth.
14. Establishment of Athalassa Education and Research Centre
15. Creation of a Centre for Greek Literature and Culture at the Pancyprian Gymnasium: a creative workshop that should be continued by providing outlets for high school students and teachers who want to further cultivate language education and Greek literature. As part of the programming there was a student workshop with our great poet Kyriakos Charalambidis. As part of the Centre's operation, a pan-Cypriot competition for a student magazine has been announced and oral communication competitions will also be announced.
16. Introduction of Skills Workshops in primary and secondary schools: opportunities to develop 21st century skills and a number of necessary thematic modules (such as digital literacy, environmental and sustainability education, sexual education, economic and financial literacy, awareness and protection from addictive substances and behaviours, traffic and road safety education, solidarity - respect for diversity - volunteering - beginnings of citizenship
17. Educational Mission in the United Kingdom (UK) - parochial schools - financial support - new books through and in cooperation with the Greek Language Centre (ELC) - strengthening the Mission and securing their employment status in the UK
18. Development expenditure. During the 10 years of government, despite the early years of the Memorandum and the difficulties of the pandemic, the construction of 27 new schools was completed at a total cost of 92 million + VAT. At the same time, extension, upgrading and improvement works were carried out on the buildings of another 282 schools at a total cost of €144 million + VAT. That is a total expenditure of €236 million. The current building programme we are delivering foresees an expenditure of €45 million in 2023 compared to €31 million last year. Separately, I would like to mention the works being carried out at St. Antonios Primary School, as part of the general plan to upgrade the schools in the centre of Nicosia, in cooperation with the School Ephorate. This design with an architectural competition and the work that is starting is, I think, a model.
19. Professional staffing of the Ministry - a reform which must continue
20. Primary Education Regulations in Parliament - extending the institution of the Head of Department in Primary Education
21. Proposal to extend Pre-Primary from age 4. This is our policy and appropriate planning has been done in the Ministry of National Education. The issue should be revisited, calmly and hopefully without expediency, after the elections
22. Immigrant Biography: reorganization, improved oversight, CPR practices. Rule: children with an immigrant biography should not just go to school, but participate fully in education and have the opportunities to which they are entitled. It is therefore a prerequisite that they know the language.
23. Special Education: from €45.5 million in 2016 to almost €70 million this year: no other government has made such a big effort, so much. As an example, the number of special education teachers employed increased from about 1,000 in 2012/13 to more than 1,100 last year. We need to pay particular attention because the number of children in special education continues to rise, and in the current school year we have reached about 14,000, up from less than 7.4,000 in 2012/13. That is, the number has almost doubled. As a result of the very large increase the structures and procedures provided for by the existing institutional framework and legislation have been overwhelmed. For this reason, a proposal of the Ministry of Education and Science for the operation of a Special Education Assessment Centre was recently approved by the Ministry of Education for faster examination of cases and ascertainment and service of objective individual needs. As well as the extension of the operation of Special Schools during the summer months and a change in the selection process for school assistants/assistants was approved. At the same time, a corresponding amendment to the relevant legislation should be adopted.
Finally, it is noted that a more detailed list of all ongoing issues and the actions to be completed will be recorded in order for the next Minister to have a clear picture.
With these words I would like once again to thank all my colleagues in the Ministry of Education, the colleagues in my Office, the colleagues in the Office of the Director General and all the officials in the directorates of the Ministry, the Directorate of Primary, Secondary General and Secondary Technical Education, the Pedagogical Institute and the Directorate of Higher Education, all our external partners. I emphasize that in cooperation with the Education Service Commission we have achieved something very important, we have won by staffing schools on time not in September and October but in August and the schools are - in the last two school years and I want to hope for the next two years - ready from day one. So I thank all the partners the Chairman and the members of both the previous and the current Education Service Commission the University Authorities, the Councils of the State Universities and the Rector's Authorities and the Private Universities. I also thank the School Boards with whom, we went hand in hand throughout the pandemic ordeal and faced the thousand and one waves that came at that time with very significant performance, as the Boards had to work at twice the pace and to twice the extent than in normal times. I think we did it, I thank them all. It has certainly been a unique experience to be at the Ministry of Education and I would therefore like to thank the President of the Republic retroactively for the honour he has given me, hoping that I have lived up to the promise of the President's term of office, which I believe is ending on a very positive note.
(For the Minister's presentation click here.)
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