REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Transcription

1 REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE ADRRESS BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE, DR COSTAS KADIS On the commemoration of the 50 years of the Ministry of Education Conference Centre 12 October 2015, 7:00 p.m. Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure that we are celebrating 50 years of the Ministry of Education and Culture. The celebrations to commemorate this 50-year landmark coincide with a series of important changes taking place in the Cyprus educational system, one which has been founded on principles and values by people with vision and ideals. We especially honour those who have strived, as dedicated labourers of Cyprus Greek education, and formed our country s modern history of education. After the foundation of the Republic of Cyprus, the responsibility for educational affairs was assigned to the Greek Communal Chamber until April 1965, when the Chamber was disbanded and the Ministry of Education was founded. The first Minster of Education to be appointed was the late Constantinos Spyridakis, the indefatigable spiritual labourer, whose contribution proved decisive to the spiritual and educational development of Greek Cypriots. The country s education gained a lead role in citizens lives. The number of schools in all educational levels increased rapidly and education was improved and upgraded. After the tragic events of 1974, our educational system was tested and it proved it had been built on solid foundations. After the loss of hundreds of schools, thousands of pupils and teachers becoming refugees and the countless wounds inflicted by invasion and occupation, our educational system successfully managed to respond to the problems and to offer moral and material support to the country s children. Through the ashes of war, schools were set up and begun functioning in refugee camps, existing schools welcomed student numbers multiple times the number they could normally cater to and the teachers surpassed themselves in their efforts to support students and parents and to keep alive the flame of hope for better days to come. What was accomplished during those difficult times is a

2 momentous achievement testifying to the psychological strength of our educators and our people. Over the following years, great changes took place in our educational system. New areas and new departments were continuously added under the umbrella of the Ministry, equipping it with the ability to respond to new challenges. The Cyprus Research Centre is founded in 1964 and in 1968 the Educational Service, later renamed to Cultural Services; the department which deals with maintaining and promoting culture. In 1972 the Pedagogical Institute is founded to address the training needs of our teachers and support them in their efforts for continuous professional development. As of 2002, the unified Curriculum Development Unit becomes part of the Pedagogical Institute and in 2008 so does the Centre of Educational Research and Evaluation. The Curriculum Development Unit is responsible for the publication of school textbooks. At this point, I would like to express our warm thanks to all the Greek governments for graciously supplying Cyprus with hundreds of thousands of school textbooks during all these years at no cost to Cyprus, and for their general support to Cyprus education. We never forget that during difficult times, thousands of young people were educated in Greek universities and staffed our schools. The Ministry of Education further enhances its dynamic in 2009 with the Office for European and International Affairs, which contributes to the effective and creative participation of the Ministry of Education and Culture in European and International affairs. The foundation of the University of Cyprus in Nicosia in 1989 constitutes a landmark in the country s educational development as it opened the way for the development of Higher education in our country. This was followed by the founding of the Open University of Cyprus in 2002, the Cyprus University of Technology in 2004 and of five private universities in These universities have been crucial to the enhancement of our society s educational level and offered thousands of young people the opportunity to obtain quality university education in their home country. Our Ministry shows keen interest in our youth and the matters which are relevant to them. The Youth Board of Cyprus, which functions under the supervision of our Ministry, offers young people opportunities to participate in community affairs, healthy and creative activities and supports them in effectively responding to problems they face. 2

3 In 1993 the Council for the Historical Memory of the Struggle of ΕΟΚΑ is founded. The Council is administratively under the Ministry of Education and Culture and has already achieved a remarkable contribution as regards documenting and promoting the Liberation Struggle. That same year, the Ministry of Education was renamed to Ministry of Education and Culture, thus giving due recognition to our culture and emphasising the importance of the country s cultural affairs. The Cyprus Theatre Organisation, which was founded in 1971, and is under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Culture, organises actions which include a wide variety of theatre activities that promote drama education and aesthetic appreciation. Another important chapter of the Ministry s work is Sport, an area with a tradition going back thousands of years, with our participation in the ancient Olympic Games. Developing out-ofschool sports, coordinating the country s sport activities, developing the Olympic ideals and promoting Cyprus in the international sports arena, constitute the basic objectives of the Cyprus Sports Organisation, which also functions under the supervision of our Ministry. The backbone of the Ministry, however, is formed by the three large departments of Primary, Secondary and Technical and Vocational Education, on whose hard work depends the smooth running of our schools. The history of the Ministry of Education and Culture is linked to society and its development over time. Many important developments have been achieved in all the Ministry s areas of work throughout these 50 years. We rightly honour and praise all the past Ministers of Education for their important contribution and for the legacy they have inherited to Education, Sport and Culture. I will mention each one of them by name: Constantinos Spyridakis, Frixos Petrides, Andreas Kouros, Andreas Mikelllides, Chrysostomos Sophianos, Nicos Konomis, Panos Ioannou, Stelios Katsellis, Andreas Christofides, Andreas Filippou, Chistophoros Christophides, Klairi Angelidou, Georgios Hadjinicolaou, Lykourgos Kappas, Ouranios Ioannides, Pefkios Georgiades, Akis Kleanthous, Andreas Demetriou, Giorgos Demosthenous and Kyriakos Kenevezos. Dear guests, When honouring this 50-year development of the Ministry of Education and Culture, we feel that it is our duty, not merely to continue the work we have been entrusted with by our predecessors, but also to improve and advance our education and highlight and promote our 3

4 culture. It is our vision to contribute to the development of citizens who, apart from possessing knowledge and skills, are characterized by ethos and well-rounded personalities and are able to creatively contribute to the development of society and respond to the challenges of the future. With respect to all that has been achieved so far, we are now moving on to an overall modernisation of the Ministry s educational policy and the Ministry s organisational structures. We have formed, and have already begun implementing, a series of new modern policies on a number of crucial matters, which were generally acknowledged to be in need of reform. For the first time we are implementing a thorough strategic plan for the Ministry of Education and Culture, which correlates to the Ministry s budget. In order to improve the functioning of the Ministry itself, we are also implementing an action plan for its restructuring and the restructuring of the semi-government organisations that are under its supervision. We are modernising the structure of school timetables. As of September we have initiated the implementation of new school timetables in Secondary and Primary Education. We are gradually abolishing the outmoded and problematic institution of the Unified Lyceum and adopting an approach where Lyceum students can choose strands of compulsory and optional subjects, whereas in Primary Education we are strengthening the teaching of school subjects following the indications of evidence-based reports. As of September 2015 we are extending Music and Sports Lycea to all towns. For the first time this year, Sport and Music Gymnasia have also begun functioning and we hope that they will soon be available in all the towns of non-occupied Cyprus. Summer schools operated with great success for the first time in They primarily catered to the needs of vulnerable groups of the population. We were able to accept all of the 2200 applications submitted and the summer schools received positive feedback from both parents and students. We are updating the syllabus of the subjects taught at all levels of education and we are introducing innovative approaches to teaching. As of September 2015 the pilot implementation of the restructured national curriculum has been initiated. The curriculum has been restructured based on Attainment Targets and Adequacy Targets, thus shifting the focus away from the content that is being taught and on what the student should actually achieve in each subject as regards knowledge, competences, attitudes and values. We are aware of the crucial role that educators play in order for an educational system to achieve its objectives. This is the reason we are improving a series of policies related to the quality of our educators. We aim to recruit the best teachers and offer them the motives and the 4

5 resources so that they can continue developing throughout their service in our educational system. A landmark decision for the history of Cyprus education is the recent ratification by the House of Representatives of legislation which introduces a new system for the recruiting of teachers; one which is characterised by integrity and is based on merit. This has been achieved after discussions which span over 26 years. The selection of teachers will no longer be based on when a degree was obtained which was the case until now but will be based on quality criteria such as knowledge, relevant experience and qualifications. Another action of vital importance is the Council of Ministers recent decision to adopt a unified policy regarding the professional development of educators. The new policy will be piloted this year and makes provisions for the systematic training of all educators on matters relevant to the needs of their specific school unit or their own personal development needs. The reforms which focus on educators are completed with the New Evaluation System for educators and educational practice, which is now in its final stages of development. Significant reforms are also promoted in Technical and Vocational Education, which has an important role to play in supporting the Cyprus economy and decreasing unemployment. More specifically, the Council of Ministers has recently approved a thorough strategy for the upgrading of Technical and Vocational Education which has already begun to be implemented. New, contemporary curricula and school timetables have been designed and are scheduled to be implemented in the following school year. We are also setting up new infrastructures and labs in our Technical Schools so that they can respond to the increased student interest for specific study fields. The transition of Post-secondary Institutes of Technical and Vocational Training into Higher Education schools that will offer a vocational direction has also been approved by the Council of Ministers and is moving ahead along with the parallel target to also upgrade the value of the type of certification they will offer. Higher Education is also undergoing reforms. After debating the subject for eight years, legislation has been finalised and approved last July by the House of Representatives for the establishing of an Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education. This is a milestone for Higher and Tertiary education in our country and is expected to significantly contribute towards Cyprus becoming an international educational centre. In collaboration with the Open University of Cyprus and the Ministry of Defense, we have, for the first time, implemented a distance learning programme so that our soldiers can attend university-level education; an achievement which will accrue numerous benefits. Moreover, the Cyprus Open University designed a platform through which all the Cyprus universities, 5

6 public and private, collaborated so as to offer distance programmes of study, which are already attracting significant numbers of foreign students. The aforementioned reforms have not prevented the Ministry of Education and Culture from developing and implementing a series of targeted measures to support vulnerable groups. Such measures are the provision of free breakfast, grants towards the purchase of personal computers, exemption from fees for taking the pancyprian exams, university student grants and the student pack. We have also taken important decisions that promote education and culture in general. The Council of Ministers decided towards the restoration of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre and the project is expected to be completed within After discussions and debates which spanned seven years, the plans for the restoration of Cyprus historic school, the Pancyprian Gymnasium, have finally been approved with the maximum possible consent. The restoration project is expected to begin within A digital platform for the Cyprus Library has already been developed and is fully functional. In November 2014 the move of the Cyprus Art Works Warehouse was completed and it is now housed in a permanent area, whereas a tender process has been completed for construction work, which is expected to begin so as to transform the old ΣΠΕΛ building into an exhibition area for the National Gallery. At the same time we are working on identifying a suitable location for the Cyprus Library so that construction work can begin soon. For more effective administration and handling of cultural issues, we are moving towards improving and restructuring the Cultural Services, using input from expert studies. The reforms and innovations we are striving for in all the areas for which the Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible, are we believe- carried out with the consensus of society and are the result of a collective effort. This is why I would like to express my warm thanks to the Permanent Secretary and to all the staff of the Ministry of Education and Culture and especially to my close collaborators, who work tirelessly often sacrificing their personal time - for the planning and implementation of what we envision. I would like to particularly thank the Chairs and members of the Scientific Committees who have worked, and are still diligently continuing to work, pro bono for their decisive contribution to the educational reform. I would also like to warmly thank the Educational Associations and all the educators, the Parent and Student Associations, the Educational Service Commission and the members of the House of Representatives and particularly the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Educational Affairs and Culture, who have constructively and consensually contributed to the smooth implementation of the many important changes that we are introducing in education. My sincere thanks also go to the Church of Cyprus for the 6

7 important role it has played and continues to play in education. I also express my thanks to all the organised groups that have throughout the years constantly supported the work of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Finally, I would like to thank the interdepartmental committee in charge of organising the events to commemorate the 50 years of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority for its support, as well as the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation who is the publicity sponsor for all the commemorative events and activities organised. Dear friends, Tonight, I feel particularly moved since, by honouring the important work achieved during the 50 years of the Ministry of Education and Culture, I am convinced that we are also contributing to further progressing and developing the educational and cultural state of affairs in our country. Indeed, we are ready to face new challenges, with perhaps the most important one being the contribution of education to the process towards reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem and the liberation and reunification of our country. I would like to especially thank the President of the Republic of Cyprus for assigning educational and cultural matters very high in the priorities of his government and for offering constant and continuous support towards the promotion of the reforms we are embarking on. I would like to thank all of you for your presence here and for your support in our efforts to modernise and upgrade our education, culture and sport. Earlier, we enjoyed listening to children from the Musical Talent Development Programme. Let us now enjoy the special programme prepared for us by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Choir of the Lefkosia Music Lyceum and the children of the State Youth Orchestra. We thank them for all the work they put into tonight s event. Let s enjoy the music! 7