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Cyprus is not perfect – although it would like to think so. It has a tendency to whitewash wrongdoings by the wealthy elite and not worry too much about the consequences of nepotism and the impact of rule bending.
Privilege is everywhere and it makes more noise than a children’s birthday party at McDonald’s, especially if it has been caught hiding behind the bushes doing things it shouldn’t.
It’s the noise of self-righteousness that can usually be heard crystal clear on the airwaves, TV, social media or at restaurants where nobody looks at the price on the menu.
I’m sure you have heard that booming sound of twisted logic which politicians use to disguise their lack of intelligence while in recent weeks there have been doctors, judges and lawyers joining the chorus of those offended by the torchlight of scrutiny flashed upon them.
Our honourable judges are in the dock over a conflict of interest, lack of transparency and skewing the course of justice while our esteemed doctors are kicking lumps out of each other over the national health scheme because healing the sick should be tax deductible (i.e. not pay any).
Soon as their veneer of untouchability is slightly scratched away all hell breaks loose which is why the court system is in meltdown and the national health service might die an early death.
If you have tried to follow the public ‘debate’ on our beleaguered health and justice system, then you are braver than those that sank with the Titanic because the establishment is expert in diverting attention by putting the blame on someone else – like playing pass-the-parcel with your shadow.
It should not go unnoticed that judges, lawyers and doctors are also among the highest earners in our society because Cypriots are conditioned to pay for failure.
Health system doesn’t work? Sorry about that, just go private and be done with it, oh you can’t afford it – well, borrow the money or get in line at the state hospital. Sound like a system that’s working for you? No, but somebody is benefitting at your expense.
Have some legal issues? Not to worry, get a good lawyer and you will be back on Easy Street in no time, can’t afford a good lawyer? Please go straight to jail, unless you are related to the judge, nod-nod, wink-wink.
Another key sector where money talks and privilege walks tall is education – and how is that working out for you? Teachers don’t teach, so private tuition is the only answer to keep up with the state education system. Here again, a lack of available cash will condemn your child to low paid jobs or wiping up after those kids at the McDonald’s birthday party.
Cypriots can tolerate, corrupt cops, bent politicians, crumbling hospitals and a dysfunctional justice system but when it comes to education, their kids come first.
This is why the shadow education sector is worth an estimated EUR 100 mln with many parents having to spend around EUR 500 for each child’s tuition on a regular basis.
Most of them are simply paying for after-school lessons so their kids can survive in a school system suffocating with underachievement founded on mediocrity.
Teachers uphold a failed system because it lines their pockets and gives them all the power, they come first, and the students come last. It doesn’t say that in the brochure, but that’s how it works in practice.
It is illegal for state teachers to moonlight, but the practice is widespread, why should they perform in class when they can make a packet after school.
The Education Ministry knows that this is going on but pretends it has a handle on it. It’s quite happy to wait for parents to complain and then refer it to the police who obviously have nothing better to do than catch people in bad cardigans teaching maths in their kitchen.
Parents are not going to out moonlighting teachers as they are caught up in the same hamster wheel of getting their kids to pass exams to ensure they leave school with something that will open doors to university or a better-paid job.
Cyprus spends so much on state education yet stumbles over every global test that measures standards in science, maths and languages.
There is no bang for our buck, so why persist with a system that is not providing the economy with the next generation of required skills but anxious exam-damaged teens.
The government is banking on a new dawn where teachers will be properly trained, selected on their suitability to teach a certain subject and be frequently assessed on their classroom ability.
It’s about time that schools are also assessed on the educational experience they can offer, not just robot-learning for exam results so that parents can gauge whether the institution is progressing in life-lessons.
Meanwhile, you are still driving around at night like a taxi driver picking up your kids from another expensive lesson due to the futility of relying solely on the state system to educate your children.
Not to mention the fact, you’ve had to take a second job as a taxi driver to pay for that extra tuition. Then did tell you that at school.
