The proposal for changing how teachers are evaluated, which has been strongly condemned by the unions, is set to be approved by the cabinet on Tuesday.

“Our proposal is expected to be approved by the Council of Ministers tomorrow and then it will go to parliament,” Education Minister Athena Michaelidou said during her visit to St George’s School in Larnaca on Monday.

Responding to strong objections to the proposal, Michaelidou stressed that opposition had existed for 50 years, adding that allowing it to halt progress would stagnate the education system.

“We will overcome any difficulties so that we can all give society what our children and teachers truly deserve,” the minister said.

The proposal was first presented in early February with Michalidou underscoring the need for a comprehensive reform of the teacher evaluation system, citing outdated procedures and the absence of structured service plans as key issues.

She cited broader deficiencies in the existing system and her proposed framework covered “multiple and modern evaluation sources” such as multi-person assessments, transparent procedures, and measures aimed at “strengthening meritocracy”.

Despite the push for modernisation, the secondary school teachers’ union Oelmek had expressed notable reservations from the start and eventually rejected the final proposal of the evaluation, citing that only one of the union’s ten key recommendations had been adopted.

According to Oelmek, the union has for years recommended that the appeals body include an independent judge, a university academic with expertise in education, and a retired senior official from the education ministry. Instead, the ministry insists on an internal process involving the ministry’s permanent secretary, the director of secondary education, and a department head, essentially the same people responsible for the initial evaluations.

The minister emphasised that the proposal was designed to meet the needs of society and ultimately provide what both children and teachers truly deserved.

Additionally, she said, there will be “clear and measurable evaluation criteria”.

The minister also addressed a range of other issues the school system currently being debated in the public including the installation of proper air conditioning and cameras.

“This year emphasis was placed on lyceums so that lyceum students, or almost all of them, can sit for their exams in air-conditioned classrooms,” Michaelidou said.

She stressed that as of now, 80 per cent of the Lyceums and an overall 45 per cent of schools were already upgraded with new air conditioning, adding that the installation of air conditioning in all schools would be completed within the next three years.

In regards to the installation of cameras and security guards in schools, the minister said that the ministry had already started trials to implement this to address problematic behaviour, emphasising that while prevention through education was the primary goal, due to problems mainly involving older students outside of school hours, several security cameras have been installed “to protect school property”.