The House education committee on Wednesday began talks with the education ministry and teachers’ unions, as the formal debate on the proposed teacher evaluation bill gets under way.

Committee chairman Pavlos Mylonas said the committee will meet stakeholders “not in our political capacity but as the education committee”, to mediate and reach consensus on a bill affecting schools and teachers.

Earlier in the day secondary school teachers went on strike to protest the bill and all teachers’ unions have raised serious concerns over the bill.

Poed president Myria Vassiliou said parliament is being asked to consider legislation that has not been agreed upon. The union’s board will meet on Thursday to review the education committee session.

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Oelmek, the secondary school teaching union, president Demetris Taliadoros criticised the proposal for “many gaps, weaknesses and ambiguities” that “conflict with logic”. He said the union will update its members on the committee’s discussion before taking further decisions.

Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, participating via video conference, described the bill as “a modern, flexible and implementable evaluation system”. She said the ministry supports agreements with teachers’ organisations and listens to their concerns but noted that “it is not possible to satisfy all demands.”

Akel MP Christos Christofides said the education system is currently in crisis. He added that the government has not taken sufficient steps to ensure smooth school operations, leaving the education committee to mediate and prevent further disruption. Christofides noted that the latest version of the regulations, received only yesterday, still contains “gaps, ambiguities, problematic points and unanswered questions”, and warned that the proposed system could prove ineffective. He also clarified that the ministry’s plan excludes school principals from numeric evaluation for the next five years.

Deputy House committee president and Disy MP Giorgos Karoullas said his party presented proposals to correct “serious distortions” in the government’s plan. He stressed that reforms must improve learning outcomes, prevent future crises, and that explicit government commitments on implementation and budget planning until 2027 are required before the bill can be passed. Karoullas added that consultation between the ministry and teachers’ unions remains possible to resolve outstanding issues.

Karoullas concluded that all stakeholders share the responsibility to ensure a modern evaluation system that raises public education standards, prioritises students, and protects teachers from unclear or arbitrary procedures.

Following these parliamentary discussions, President Nikos Christodoulides said no strike will stop the government’s major reform efforts. He stressed that teachers cannot remain unevaluated and that the issue must be completed immediately, as part of wider reforms to modernise the state established in 1960.

Speaking to CyBC ahead of an event marking 25 years of the programme “Aminesthe Peri Patris,” Christodoulides said that consultation and dialogue have already taken place, including in his presence, and that these opinions can also be expressed during the parliamentary debate. He welcomed the outcome of the clause-by-clause discussion starting in the House.

He emphasised that the essence of the government’s proposal on teacher evaluation cannot change. While respecting the right to strike, he said no strike will halt the government’s reform agenda.

He also said that the issue has financial dimensions, pointing out that the previous government had included teacher evaluation in the recovery and resilience fund. Ongoing reforms in the law office, audit office, education, and disability sectors aim to modernise the state.

When asked whether the government would withdraw the bill if Parliament altered its core, he said that it would, but the essence of the proposal cannot change.