Teachers’ unions meet government on recruitment issues

Teaching unions Oelmek, Poed and Oltek met with government officials on Thursday to discuss a proposal that would hypothetically improve the recruitment of permanent teaching posts and cut down on the huge number of temporary cover staff.

A proposal by the education ministry to improve the recruitment process of teachers and the system of appointments in education, was presented to the educational organisations Oelmek, Oltek and Poed.

According to an announcement from the ministry, permanent secretary, Neophytos Papadopoulos, met with the trade unions Oelmek, Oltek and Poed, where he presented a proposal for the years 2023-2027, regarding ‘Investment in the recruitment process of teachers’, and ‘Ensuring the timely staffing of school units’.

These proposals, Papadopoulos noted, have already been presented both to the permanent secretary of the finance ministry as well as to the president and members of the educational service committee.

Papadopoulos said that what is provided for in the proposal is the increase of permanent teacher positions with a corresponding reduction in the number of temporary teachers, and a modification of the existing regime for offering contracts and examinations for admission to the appointment list.

Concluding the meeting, Papadopoulos handed over the proposal to the representatives of the trade unions, informing them that in the immediate future separate meetings will be established with the leadership of each organisation to discuss their positions regarding the proposal, with a view to concluding the consultations in January 2023.