By Andrea Sophocleous
ENGLISH School teachers claim their row with the headmaster is not just a workplace disagreement, but an issue of educational and national importance.
This was stated by the president of the English School Staff Association (ESSA), Antonis Antoniou, when the matter came before the House Education Committee yesterday.
And despite statements by Disy deputy Kate Clerides that a workplace quarrel was not a matter for the House, the headmaster versus staff issue was nevertheless debated at some length.
The ongoing standoff revolves around the specific circumstances surrounding the promotion of a female member of staff, and broader claims of an autocratic style of management.
ESSA claims the headmaster showed favouritism to the teacher concerned, and Antoniou went on yesterday to blame Thomas for the “tense climate” that prevailed at the school due to his “completely unacceptable management style”.
He also repeated claims by teachers that the headmaster had threatened them with sacking, insulted them and generally demoralised them.
Antoniou characterised Thomas’ management style as “autocratic”, which prompted the committee chairman, Sophocles Hadjiyiannis, to joke that perhaps it was “left over” from colonial days.
Antoniou finished off by saying the headmaster was not solely responsible for the current crisis and attributed equal blame to the school board for protecting Thomas.
School board member Nicos Saveriades, who issued a written statement on Monday disagreeing with the board’s position, was very vocal in his condemnation of the headmaster and the board. In a clearly agitated state, he accused Thomas of corruption and of destroying the English School.
The teachers’ association believes an independent ad-hoc committee should be established to examine the matter as the best way out of the standoff. But Board president John Hadjiantonas told the Cyprus Mail that a permanent joint consultative committee, bringing together representatives of the board and the teachers’ association, already existed, and the matter could be resolved there.
Eighteen teachers are threatening to resign if the board does not take “decisive action” to resolve to issue.
Further developments are expected today.
