POED President Myria Vasileiou stated expectations for substantive convergence via the House Education Committee were unmet. Mediation efforts failed to approve amendments aligning with POED positions. The union never agreed to the Assistant Director’s role in evaluations, now removed, though the Director’s final say remains problematic.
Vasileiou stressed the bill lacks agreement and won’t resolve education’s chronic issues, despite official claims. Uncertainties persist on the Education Ministry’s daily implementation support.
Mobilisations under consideration
POED deems the system unsatisfactory due to ambiguities and the dual evaluator-mentor role. Decisions on mobilisations will follow collective review of the final text and organ convening. Unions remain cautious post-amendments, insisting success requires dialogue, trust, and collective application.
OELMEK notes positives with reservations
OELMEK President Dimitris Taliadoros said parliament approved regulations by majority, rejecting the key demand to exclude Directors from evaluations. Positive changes include merging two training programs, scaling scores from 1-100 to 1-40, removing Assistant Directors from final assessments.
The Ministry must set clear criteria within two months, including for detached teachers. A new independent second-level body will handle appeals, correcting past biases where inspectors judged their own work. Concerns linger on formative evaluation implementation, avoiding over-centralisation and clarifying inspector-advisor roles.
Parliament and Ministry perspectives
House Education Committee Chair Pavlos Mylonas described tough balances with conflicting views. Full Director exclusion was a red line for some; others saw daily school presence as essential. A three-year transitional period precedes independent re-evaluation, with dialogue open until early March.
Education Minister stated passage marks real work’s start, shortening transition from five to three years while mandating teacher training for the first time. A Monitoring Committee will assess step-by-step, intervening for school collaboration and educational enhancement.
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