Afternoon teachers protest, demand job security

Teachers responsible for afternoon classes demanded job security during a protest outside the education ministry on Wednesday.

The independent group of teachers who offer lessons in 14 programmes held a nationwide protest calling on the ministry to respect a 2020 court decision providing that their current employment status as self-employed workers is illegal.

They demanded they return to the status of salaried employees, as it was between 2006 and 2013, representative of the group Elena Mitella told the Cyprus News Agency.

The teachers also handed over a relevant petition for the education minister which was received by her deputy.

According to Mitella, afternoon teachers are further demanding to be graded according to their long experience, which for some exceeds 17 years, and that they be registered on special lists that enshrine and protect them.

Also, they need clarifications on how appointments are made, since afternoon classes teachers serve specialisations.

However, it is understood morning teachers who teach core subjects also teach lessons that fall under specialisations.

“We have passed our own exams and have our own registers” so how it is possible for a specialisation to be integrated into morning school and taught by morning teachers as an extension of morning learning, the representative asked.

This approach contradicts the decision to have a music school separate from the morning school, she said.

“It is unfair for the pupil not to benefit from the specialised teacher, since he or she is specifically interested in the subject.

“It is like saying that the general practitioner should perform open heart surgery,” the petition said.

Regarding discussions to abolish afternoon classes, Mitella said this creates insecurity for our future and that of our families, but also justifies bitterness and anger.