Consultations and discussions with all stakeholders are to take place over the summer on the issue of teacher evaluations, a proposal rejected by the unions at the end of May.

Reports on Wednesday said the House education committee would be returning the bill passed at the end of last month by the cabinet and that further discussions would be held over the next two months.

During a new meeting of the education committee, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou presented the ministry’s proposal, analysing the changes proposed in relation to the existing-outdated evaluation plan.

She warned MPs about the €60 million penalty that Cyprus risked if the new teacher evaluation system is not voted on by next October.

Representatives of the teachers’ unions Oelmek, Poed and Oltek expressed their disagreements and asked MPs to return the bill to the ministry.

The position that the dialogue should continue was agreed by MPs at the committee in order to continue discussions so that by late August or early September a text will be sent to parliament, “which will be the product of dialogue and agreement” between the ministry and educational organisations.

At the end of May, the government announced sweeping reform of the teacher evaluation system, marking the most significant change to public education in decades.

The reform aimed at introducing a multi-layered, scientifically backed evaluation model, replacing the decades-old practice of single-person assessments with collective evaluations involving school heads and inspectors.

Officials said the approach will better reflect each teacher’s performance and growth.

At the heart of the reform is a shift from control to support. Evaluations were no longer a punitive measure but a continuous tool for improvement and professional development.

Teachers would be assessed throughout their careers using clearly defined, measurable criteria. Continuous training programmes were also provided for.

Two days later, an overwhelming majority of 5,286 votes, or 91.85 per cent, of members of Oelmek, the secondary school teaching union, voted against the plan.

Oelmek called on the government to “listen to the clear position of the teaching profession and withdraw the bill from parliament in order to enable a substantive and comprehensive dialogue”.

It also called on the House of Representatives to return the bill to the education ministry for a “real dialogue” aimed at reaching an agreed proposal.

In the weeks leading up to the referendum, the union said that there had been no substantial discussion with teachers, as required by law.