Tagseducation

Premarital sex is ‘selfish’ new schoolbook says

By Poly Pantelides 13/04/12
 A NEW biology book for mid-level secondary school pupils uses moralistic reasoning to describe sex, and the Old Testament to make a point about biodiversity.The teaching material saying that ‘biodiversity’ is a modern way of describing what Noah (from the Bible) did and that sex after marriage is not selfish and individualistic, unlike premarital sex.Teaching about reproduction, the material says marriage is “perhaps the most important way to express the love, responsibility and devotion which exists between a man and a woman.” ... 21 comments

Schools need more counsellors

By Jacqueline Agathocleous 14/03/12
THE HEAD of secondary education teachers’ union OELMEK yesterday confirmed a 17-year-old pupil had been transferred to another school after being caught in possession of drugs.Responding to media reports, OELMEK’s Demetris Taliadoros said claims over the creation of delinquent mini gangs in the island’s secondary schools weren’t wide off the mark.He stressed the need for more counsellors and child psychologists to help children who are having difficulties integrating into school life... 1 comment

Renowned Cypriot professor dies

09/03/12
 ACADEMIA was yesterday mourning the death of Professor Peter Loizos who taught in the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics for over 30 years. Loizos died on Friday March 2 aged 74. An announcement from LSE said; “The school is sad to announce that Emeritus Professor Peter Loizos, Peter started working at LSE in 1969, and became professor of anthropology in 1997, before retiring from full-time teaching in 2002.”It said that among other things, Loizos was a specialist in, and made well-known contributions to the anthropology of the Hellenic world with special reference to politics, ethnicity and nationalism in Cyprus; and to the study of gender relations in the Mediterranean. ... 10 comments

Teacher waiting list at breaking point

By Stefanos Evripidou 03/03/12
THE WAITING list for candidate teachers in the public sector has reached breaking point, with almost 40,000 now on the list, making appointments almost impossible for many and the need for reform “imperative”. Statistics released by the Educational Service Commission (ESC) reveal that the number of candidate teachers waiting for a job in the public sector has risen by over ten per cent in the last year to 39,518 compared to 35,644 in February 2011. From this figure, a whopping 22.2 per cent are Greek nationals, adding considerable competition for local teachers searching for a job in public education. ... 9 comments

Innovative butchery for Cypriot restaurants

03/03/12
TWO seminars held on Wednesday and Thursday demonstrated new butchery techniques and meat quality to Cyprus food service sector. At the Nicosia University 85 students of four hospitality colleges were shown innovative ways of butchering lamb and beef and the influence of raw material on the quality of the serving. The seminar was jointly organised by Intercollege, Cyprus Chefs’ Association, the University of Nicosia and EBLEX, the English Meat Board. Meanwhile, 22 professional cooks, members of Cyprus Chefs’ Association, witnessed new butchery techniques by Master Butcher Viv Harvey and beef and lamb cookery demonstrations by talented English Chef Jenny Jones at the Four Season Hotel in Limassol. ... Read on

New vocational training centres approved

29/02/12
THE CABINET yesterday approved the opening of post-lyceum vocational institutes and training centres, which will start running islandwide as of the 2012-2013 academic year.“These institutes will provide opportunities for people in Cyprus and especially young people to acquire, improve or upgrade their professional qualifications and skills to make them more capable to join the work force,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said.Stefanou said the decision also involves the increase and upgrading of night schools, state institutes along with adult education centres... Read on

Rotary Cyprus lends a helping hand to students in need

By Natalie Hami 26/02/12
Volunteer organisation Rotary Cyprus is being inundated with applications for the scholarships they traditionally offer to top students whose families cannot afford to send them to university.“It’s not three or four people that need help,  it’s 103,” said Elena Tanou, Rotary Cyprus’ public relations officer.  “It’s difficult but we’re going to try and give more this year.”Tanou explained that they usually offer scholarships but the financial crisis has seen a sharp increase in requests for help.“The situation is tremendous…it makes me want to cry,” said Tanou, describing how following a television presentation she gave recently the club was inundated with phone calls from parents who could not pay their children’s university fees... 1 comment

‘Scholarship scams cheat the really needy’

By Poly Pantelides 25/02/12
SOME Cypriots claim lower incomes to secure financial help and scholarships for the education of their children abroad, the head of the Cyprus State Scholarship Foundation (IKYK) said yesterday.Income criteria exists for both scholarships and grants to ensure that the money goes to those who need it the most, IKYK head Thasos Michaelides told the Mail yesterday.“But when you get a company director claiming he earns €7,000 while his employee earns €8,000 and this for a company of eight, something’s wrong isn’t it?” Michaelides said.IKYK has caught 72 false statements since getting set up in 2009. All have been referred to the police who are investigating, Michaelides said... 4 comments

Greek course for foreigners hugely successful

25/02/12
OVER 6,000 people from 92 countries are taking part in the Greek language learning course organised by the Education Ministry in the past two years.Under the motto ‘Learn Greek’ the course aims to help immigrants and foreigners residing in Cyprus, to integrate, Minister George Demosthenous said, describing the course as a successful and an innovative one. The number of participants in the first two years reached 6,078, from 92 countries and it is estimated that it will rise to 15,000 by 2015, the minister said.The Greek language learning course is co-financed by 70 per cent from the European Social Fund and its budget amounts to €3.2 million.“The course has so far been extremely successful” Demosthenous said. ... 10 comments

Cyprus Institute concerned over backlash

25/02/12
THE CHAIRMAN of the Cyprus Institute’s (CyI) Board of Trustees, Professor Edouard Brezin, has voiced his concern over the recent backlash from the Auditor-general’s report.“The activities and achievements of the Cyprus Institute have recently been challenged, without the basis of any kind of scientific evaluation,” Brezin said, referring to reactions over Auditor-general Chrystalla Georghadji’s investigation into CyI’s operations, which found a series of administrative errors and the lack of an auditing system... 4 comments
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