Nobody would have been surprised to hear that the secondary school teachers’ union Oelmek declined the education minister’s invitation to attend talks on the formulation of a new evaluation system for teachers. Governments have for decades been trying to introduce a reliable system for properly evaluating the performance of each teacher but have consistently met the strident opposition of the Oelmek bosses, who have used all types of tricks and diversionary tactics over the years to block change.

This is exactly what they have done now and because Education Minister Athena Michaelidou exposed the union’s misinformation and attempt to spark confrontation, while voicing her determination to go ahead with the reform, she became the target of a vicious union attack. “Her references vividly remind us of old-school ministers, whom she resembles more and more,” said an Oelmek announcement on Wednesday, which also accused her of “losing her calm as soon as she faced the ineffectiveness of the education ministry in solving a series of problems.”

For Oelmek, Michaeliou was an inadequate minister, unable “to solve problems and promote change.” And the union had to mention the educational principle it values above everything else – the failure to install AC units in classrooms – as an example of ministerial weakness and inadequacy. ACs are always brought up by teaching unions as an excuse for avoiding discussion on any matter. It even mentioned the efforts to introduce English language performance as minister.

It is ironic that while the Oelmek bosses feel entitled to evaluate the performance of the minister in public, they cannot accept the idea of teachers being evaluated for the job they are being paid so generously to do. The union also accused the minister of submitting “slapdash proposals” for the evaluation system. So why had Oelmek’s representatives not attended the meeting with the minister to point out how the proposals could be improved?

The truth is that the union does not want teachers properly evaluated for their work. It wants the discredited system, which gives all teachers top marks, to stay in place because meritocracy is anathema. Union bosses shun a system that would reward the best teachers because they want even the laziest and most inadequate teachers (many of whom become top union officials) to be eligible for promotion and to take senior positions. Interestingly, the other two teaching unions, representing primary and technical schoolteachers, have not declined the minister’s invitation for talks.

With Wednesday’s attack, Oelmek has shown that it has no intention to engage in changing the evaluation system, but the minister has no obligation to seek the approval of self-serving union bosses, hell-bent on keeping the old system in place. As she told Trito radio show on Wednesday morning, Cyprus is the only country in the EU that does not have a modern evaluation system for teachers. This is because no other EU member state is held hostage by teaching unions, which insist that public education must serve teachers rather than children. Michaelidou said she would be going ahead with the reform regardless. We can only hope she will not give in to the intimidation tactics of Oelmek.