New Minister for Education Athena Michaelidou participated in her first Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council in Brussels on Tuesday, during which she referred to the appointment system for educators applied in Cyprus, in the context of a discussion on the need for recruitment of high quality teachers and policies aimed at promoting the professional development of teachers.
The agenda of the meeting, chaired by Swedish Minister for Schools, Lotta Edholm, included the adoption of conclusions on skills and competences in the context of the green transition, and the issue of teaching staff shortages in the EU.
During the discussion on attracting and retaining qualified teachers and trainers in national education systems as a necessary condition for the creation of a European Education Area by 2025, the Minister of Education said that Cyprus has established, through qualitative criteria, a meritocratic appointment system aimed at attracting the most suitable, qualified and competent teachers, according to a statement.
Michaelidou also referred to existing targeted policies that aim to promote the professional development of teachers, focusing on the school unit, and stressed the need for a modern and reliable evaluation system, which will contribute to the feedback and training of teachers, but also to the creation of new career paths and professional development.
She also made specific reference to European cooperation initiatives in which Cyprus participates, such as the pilot programme for careers in teaching and Erasmus+ Teacher Academies. Michaelidou also stressed that the exchange of good practices is always useful and that Cyprus is ready to provide expertise on professional learning for teachers.
In their conclusions on the green transition, ministers stressed the role of initial and continuing vocational training, higher education and adult education in upgrading the skills and competences required for the green and digital transition, with a view to meeting the needs of the labour market.
In particular, in the conclusions the Council invites Member States to engage education and training providers, research organisations, employers, social partners and other relevant stakeholders in jointly identifying reskilling and upskilling needs for the green transition including public-private cooperation.
During a working lunch, the Ministers of Education exchanged views on ways to integrate displaced teachers from Ukraine into the education systems of member states, with a view to supporting Ukrainian students.
A minute’s silence was observed at the beginning of the meeting in memory of the victims of the deadly train collision in Greece.
Source Cyprus News Agency