Teachers’ union ‘no longer trusts the ministry

SECONDARY school teachers yesterday complained their demands had not been met by the Education Minister and did not rule out taking measures.

Chairwoman of the teacher’s union OELMEK Eleni Semelidou refused to be drawn on what measures would be taken.

“Nothing is ruled out,” she told reporters.

Semelidou said she was saddened by the state of affairs.

“There is a full standstill. We express our disappointment and so not want to come to the point to say we no longer trust the Education Ministry,” Semelidou said.

She said their demands did not concern union demands but were mainly linked to supporting and upgrading the public school, the smooth operation of schools and supporting pupils.

She said one longstanding issue has been meeting with the minister.

Another point of concern is guarding schools during their operation.

Semelidou said they receive daily reports from schools which have a serious problem with outsiders entering the premises and often creating trouble.

“When is this problem going to be resolved?” she said.

She also said reception classes for non Greek-speaking pupils should be set up so that they could be integrated.

Despite the existence of support programmes, non Greek-speaking pupils cannot participate or communicate with other children because they do not know the language, Semelidou said.

“All these and many others are pending but what worries us is the way we are treated by the Education Ministry,” Semelidou said.

The minister said he found it difficult to understand the reasons that led OELMEK to take measures.

Andreas Demetriou said OELMEK obviously aimed to direct the discussion away from the issue of public school teachers holding illegal private lessons and unlicensed educational institutes.

The minister said it was not the time for unnecessary confrontations but the time to take decisions for the really big issues of education.

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