Teachers return to school

Monday marked a return to school for teachers, as Education Minister Athena Michaelidou expressed satisfaction over recent upgrades.

The school year starts with the operation of many more all-day schools, teaching improvements, and measures against misbehaviour, the minister told the Cyprus News Agency.

The ministry has set the goals of making schools more inclusive and improving learning, she said.

“We have an approximately 30 per cent increase in [all-day] primary schools [and] a jump in secondary, [from] five last year to seven,” Michaelidou added.

Investing in all-day schools is important as a social as well as an educational matter, the minister said.

“We are also investing in their quality [and] linking the [after hours] with the morning school to streamline it,” she added.

Additionally, the ministry is set to tackle delinquency and violence with measures starting in early childhood, aimed at prevention.

“We announced the national strategy for violence and delinquency [with] emphasis on early childhood education and we are implementing a pilot programme of alternative schooling for children with extreme delinquent behaviour,” she said.

The programme will run as a pilot in Nicosia.

Additions to the curriculum include the introduction of lessons on financial literacy at secondary level, and vocational education and counselling at primary level.

Meanwhile, student assessment methods are to be boosted through engaging pupils in projects, and creative and group tasks instead of relying solely on test-taking, the minister added.

Greek language instruction has also been upgraded Michaelidou said.

The upgrades come in the form of teacher training, pupil workshops, and a re-introduction of spelling bee contests, the minister said.

Adding that surveys have revealed schools were failing to teach pupils Greek text comprehension as well as speaking skills, the minister said these will now be areas of focus.

Michaelidou also said schools are progressing with digitisation in areas such as student registration and compilation of a digital file for each pupil.

This electronic record will follow the child from one grade to the next and ensure effective personal data protection, she said.

The two structural topics of teacher appointments and teacher evaluations are expected to be institutionalised and resolved this year, the minister added.

Inclusive and wholistic education will also to be legislated, she said.

Secondary schools will open for students on Friday, September 6 and to primary students on Monday, September 9.