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There was a mass protest in Nicosia this week by school teachers unhappy that the government wants to initiate reforms in education which they don’t like.
Like most public rows in Cyprus, there is a lot of background noise and agitated voices claiming the world has done them a great wrong. Then the mood music simply becomes one of he said, she said and why not throw the kitchen sink at it.
What the merits of any argument are, and the consequences of any measures taken are drowned out by the voices of indignation and the stampede of self-interest groups.
Its become fashionable to blame the media for everything and wheel out the ‘fake news’ condemnation if people are unhappy about a story – Trump is the self-assigned band leader. Although there is a marked difference between silly news, badly-packaged news, slanted news and fake news.
There is, of course, state propaganda and disinformation, but this should not be confused with Trump outing credible and respectable media outlets as the fiefdoms of fake news – which in his case means stories that question his motives or policies.
Anyway, Cyprus isn’t so much a bastion of fake news but a lot of it is flaky and superficial. A prime example is the teachers dispute with the government – can anybody honestly hold up their hand and concisely explain what the problem is.
Cypriot media has an obligation to cut through the jargon and present the issues in an objective manner with researched facts to ask the hard questions that unions and government are predisposed not to answer.
I confess that I don’t understand the real reasons why teachers are threatening to strike or why they took to the streets. Consequently, the government has been equally inept at clearly stating its case on education reform so that public opinion is suitably informed.
Instead, we are subjected to steam heads spouting out their criticism of the opposite side while conveying they are not averse to dialogue but don’t like the other sides attitude which means compromise goes out of the window.
For the past few weeks the ‘crisis in education’ has been headline news with the media informing us of a number of crucial meeting between the various groups involved without offering us a menu to understand the issues at stake.
This dispute has been taken at face value with a selection of rabble-rousers wheeled out on radio and TV to utter a mantra loosely based on the ‘them against us’ theme.
As always there is a lack of clarity – I’m a slow learner – about this predicament and why it’s a crisis in education – apart from the schools being closed when the new term starts.
Amid the static and recriminations, there seems to be no wider debate about the state of the island’s school system and why it is failing so many children. And should there not be a league table of the best and worst performing schools?
Tools for the future
Are schools up to the task of supplying a new generation with the tools to make a contribution to a changing economic climate? Are we producing environmentally sensitive, healthy, prejudice-free, digital warriors to go out and make a positive impact on society or are we feeding kids corrupted code?
Let’s say we wanted to prepare children for a digital future – does Cyprus have the schools, the teachers and infrastructure to do that.
Why are teachers so upset? Are schools going to disappear – No. Are hundreds of teachers going to be out of a job – No. Are teachers being exploited and blamed for poor test results – No.
It seems they are defiantly angry because the Education Minister didn’t talk to them properly but tried to impose his will (he wrote them a letter) by insisting they work more so the government can reduce costs and invest elsewhere in education.
Thousands marched on the Presidential Palace demanding respect, declared teachers can’t be bought and protested against the perceived dismantling of state education.
Mass protest is something that Cypriots don’t do unless it affects unionised labour that protects public sector privilege as opposed to defending the working class against exploitation.
So, strikes usually happen by people in a position of power and influence rather than the downtrodden, underpaid and overworked. A prime example of Champaign socialism.
The education system is not in a particularly good place at the moment, and that reflects poorly on everyone – especially teachers and the government.
Some teachers deserve our respect and gratitude while others shouldn’t be anywhere near the profession if Cyprus is serious about being a high achiever.
It should be the parents out on the streets protesting against a failed education system and demanding that the teachers and government listen to them for once.
Undoubtedly, this schism in the classroom will not put the children first and that’s the story that should be told.
