Tensions around the teacher evaluation reform are escalating ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the House Education Committee, where the new system is scheduled to be discussed. According to information, there are last-minute moves to postpone the debate as the gap between the Ministry of Education and the teaching unions remains wide. POED (Pancyprian Organisation of Greek Teachers) and OELMEK (Organisation of Greek Secondary Education Officers of Cyprus) have already warned of strike action, accusing the ministry of submitting a revised proposal to parliament without the required consultation. The unions cite a lack of institutional dialogue and are calling for the regulations to be withdrawn.
Ministry response and letters to parliament
In two letters sent to the committee on 17 October, the Ministry’s Director General, Giorgos Panteli, rejects claims that there was no dialogue and defends the process that led to the final text. He says that over the past year the ministry held dozens of meetings with all teaching organisations, exchanged written positions and ran a public consultation. He also notes three open information events and a fresh round of talks from July to September 2025 to consider further amendments. Dialogue, he argues, does not mean accepting every proposal from the unions, adding that several suggestions were either off topic or mutually contradictory.
What changed in the revised regulations
Panteli outlines several adjustments in the submitted regulations. The weight of school directors in the scoring of teachers is reduced from 30 percent to 20 percent after the transition period. The Secondary Appeals Body is reshaped to include a former judge and a former senior official of the ministry. The 1 to 100 grading scale is retained and converted to a 40-point scale for promotion purposes. Professional learning is increased to fifty hours every three years during working time. The threshold for a rating deemed satisfactory is lowered from 50 percent to 40 percent. An anonymous questionnaire from subordinates to supervisors is introduced, alongside a self-assessment option for teachers. Implementation is staged, with final evaluations in 2027 to 2028 and full rollout in 2030 to 2031.
The ministry reminds parliament that the reform carries an estimated cost of €12.9 million. Panteli warns that failure to pass the regulations could trigger a penalty of about €60 million from the European Commission, since the reform is a milestone under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.