The House education committee on Wednesday began talks with the education ministry and teachers’ unions, as the formal debate on the proposed teacher evaluation bill gets under way.

Committee chairman Pavlos Mylonas said the committee will meet stakeholders “not in our political capacity but as the education committee”, to mediate and reach consensus on a bill affecting schools and teachers. He added that the committee would try to make changes to improve the bill as much as possible.

Earlier in the day secondary school teachers went on strike to protest the bill and all teachers’ unions have raised serious concerns over the bill.

Poed president Myria Vassiliou said parliament is being asked to consider legislation that has not been agreed upon. The union’s board will meet on Thursday to review the education committee session.

Oelmek, the secondary school teaching union, president Demetris Taliadoros criticised the proposal for “many gaps, weaknesses and ambiguities” that “conflict with logic”. He said the union will update its members on the committee’s discussion before taking further decisions.

Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, participating via video conference, described the bill as “a modern, flexible and implementable evaluation system”. She said the ministry supports agreements with teachers’ organisations and listens to their concerns but noted that “it is not possible to satisfy all demands.”

She added that the flexibility of the evaluation plan “allows for monitoring each stage of implementation in cooperation with teachers’ organisations” and stressed, “there is maturity and responsibility to move forward… we are alongside the teachers.”

Michaelidou also explained that the recovery and resilience fund requires immediate implementation of provisions, and that the first year will involve discussion of service plans to allocate positions, with indicative criteria and weights provided, a monitoring committee has terms of reference to oversee the process.

She highlighted that many issues are referred to a committee that is being asked to handle matters that should have been agreed beforehand, and that the bill includes many new additional duties not mapped by the ministry.

Akel MP Christos Christofides said the education system is currently in crisis. He added that the government has not taken sufficient steps to ensure smooth school operations, leaving the education committee to mediate and prevent further disruption. Christofides noted that the latest version of the regulations, received only yesterday, still contains “gaps, ambiguities, problematic points and unanswered questions”, and warned that the proposed system could prove ineffective. He also clarified that the ministry’s plan excludes school principals from numeric evaluation for the next five years.

Deputy House president and Disy MP Giorgos Karoullas said his party presented proposals to correct “serious distortions” in the government’s plan. He stressed that reforms must improve learning outcomes, prevent future crises, and that explicit government commitments on implementation and budget planning until 2027 are required before the bill can be passed. Karoullas added that consultation between the ministry and teachers’ unions remains possible to resolve outstanding issues.

Karoullas concluded that all stakeholders share the responsibility to ensure a modern evaluation system that raises public education standards, prioritises students, and protects teachers from unclear or arbitrary procedures.

Following these parliamentary discussions, President Nikos Christodoulides said no strike will stop the government’s major reform efforts. He stressed that teachers cannot remain unevaluated and that the issue must be completed immediately, as part of wider reforms to modernise the state established in 1960.

Speaking to CyBC ahead of an event marking 25 years of the programme “Aminesthe Peri Patris,” Christodoulides said that consultation and dialogue have already taken place, including in his presence, and that these opinions can also be expressed during the parliamentary debate. He welcomed the outcome of the clause-by-clause discussion starting in the House.

He emphasised that the essence of the government’s proposal on teacher evaluation cannot change. While respecting the right to strike, he said no strike will halt the government’s reform agenda.

He also said that the issue has financial dimensions, pointing out that the previous government had included teacher evaluation in the recovery and resilience fund. Ongoing reforms in the law office, audit office, education, and disability sectors aim to modernise the state.

When asked whether the government would withdraw the bill if Parliament altered its core, he said that it would, but the essence of the proposal cannot change.

Taliadoros further stated that the bill lacks meritocratic evaluation criteria, must be discussed as a whole rather than piece by piece, and that 70 assistant directors and additional inspectors are needed; the ministry cannot create two categories of inspectors.

Secondary school directors association president, Elena Hadjigerou, said it would have been preferable to participate from the beginning in the dialogue on teacher evaluation, noting that “now we are faced with faits accomplis” and that participation in discussion could reduce resistance.

Deputy House committee president Chrysanthos Savvides said that committee members are in agreement on the teacher evaluation issue and are trying to address teachers’ concerns by making changes to the bill.

Psem secretary Despoina Kyprianou stated that the ministry should focus on teachers with weaknesses, and that changes should not burden school operation with bureaucracy or affect the democratic atmosphere that should prevail in schools.

The law office representative noted that the verb “may” was removed from the bill text as it was redundant, and that the effective date of the regulations is now upon their publication in the official gazette, not the 2027-28 school year.

The director-general of the education ministry, Giorgos Panteli, acknowledged the difficulty of reconciling all positions and that it was impossible to submit a regulation framework fully agreed with all stakeholders.

He added that discussions were held with Poed and Oelmek to explore support measures and that the minister has sent letters promising appropriate support once regulations are approved.

Dipa MP Alecos Tryfonides said they are determined to reach a final evaluation plan for the benefit of teachers and children, sending a message of optimism and cooperation among all stakeholders.

Poed leader Haris Charalambous requested that previous agreements with the ministry be respected and not altered.