By Charlie Charalambous
NEWLY-APPOINTED English School board chairman Daniel Hadjitofis said yesterday he would pull no punches in taking on the crippling row over the position of controversial headmaster Thomas Thomas.
“Something must change for the school to function, because right now it is not functioning at all,” Hadjitofis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.
Hadjitofis’ appointment by the Cabinet on Wednesday is seen as a damning vote of no confidence in his predecessors, who backed Thomas to the hilt in a dispute with staff over alleged promotion rigging and bullying tactics.
Hadjitofis said he had no idea why he was given the nod, though he does have his suspicions.
“I fully respect the previous board and they were hard-working, but I assume the decision came about because they got involved in the row.”
Although still finding his feet, the chairman said his first priority was to have a clear-the-air discussion with Thomas on his return from the UK.
“I think the first thing is to get the school going, and I need to get teachers and the principal to work together because the row only hurts our children.”
Staff have passed a vote of no confidence in Thomas by an overwhelming 59 votes to three, and all but one head of department has threatened to resign if Thomas stays.
“Our policy is unchanged: our view is that Thomas has to go, but we are not going to impose this on the new board but discuss it,” Staff Association head Antonis Antoniou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.
Nevertheless, the introduction of a new board is likely to ease tensions, as the Staff Association is willing to allow it an initial period of grace.
“We believe the appointments are a step in the right direction and we will give the board time,” Antoniou said.
The new spirit of co-operation is underlined by the fact that many of the ten new board members have close connections at the school, having either taught or studied there.
One member, Magda Nicholson, is also involved in the parents association, which wants Thomas out for the good of the school.
She believes the Thomas affair is an issue the board must deal with right away.
“Definitely, the first issue we need to discuss is whether Thomas should go or not,” Nicholson told the Cyprus Mail.
One of the options, according to Antoniou, may be to call for a new investigation into the allegations against Thomas.
The previous board’s internal inquiry found Thomas blameless.
“I believe that if we are looking to the future it must be a future without Thomas,” Antoniou said.
