The draft of the government’s new teacher evaluation system will be submitted to the House of representatives without further delay, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou said on Monday.

“The success of this [reform] will [benefit] all of us, the state, the teachers, the parents and, above all, our children,” Michaelidou said.

She emphasised that the adjustments included in the reform were based on “the logic of consensus and scientific documentation, without altering the philosophy of the system”, stressing it had been pending for 50 years and was long overdue.

“This reform cannot be sacrificed to petty politics. It is a 50-year-old issue and constitutes a strong social demand to [reform] it without further delay, adding real value to the quality of education,” the minister concluded.

The minister has earlier said that safeguards have already been built into the plan to ensure successful implementation.

In May, secondary teachers’ union Oelmek rejected the ministry’s final evaluation plan, saying only one of its ten key suggestions had been adopted. The union raised concerns over administrative burdens and the structure of appeals committees.

Following this, in June, the House education committee extended consultations over the summer to address union concerns.