Cyprus secondary school teachers return to work on 1 September, lessons begin on the 7th

Secondary school teachers in Cyprus — in general and technical vocational education — will return to work on Tuesday, 1 September. Lessons at secondary schools will begin on 7 September. Primary school teachers will return to schools on the same day, while classes for younger pupils will start on 14 September.

The new school year begins against the backdrop of an unresolved dispute over the teacher appointment system. Today, Minister of Education, Sport and Youth Athena Michaelidou is meeting with the leadership of POED — the Pancyprian Organisation of Greek Primary School Teachers — and on Tuesday with OLTEK, the organisation representing technical education workers.

Last week, POED’s executive council formulated, according to the organisation’s president Myria Vasiliou, “a number of specific questions and comments” to which the union expects clear and well-founded answers from the ministry.

At the same time, the minister met with OELMEK — the organisation of Greek secondary school teachers in Cyprus. The union examined the ministry’s working paper on modernising the appointment system and called for a revised proposal to be brought back: in OELMEK’s assessment, the current version does not reflect the decisions of its Pancyprian conference and creates new imbalances. The organisation does not deny the need for reform, but believes it cannot be built solely around the task of filling vacancies quickly, and warns that, in the absence of guarantees, it will use all legal means available.

“We listened to the concerns, considered the proposals and provided clarifications,” Michaelidou wrote about the meeting with OELMEK. On Tuesday at 10:00, the minister will present the plan for the start of the 2026–2027 school year at the ministry, and on 2 September at 8:35 she will report to the parliamentary education committee, which is returning to work after the summer recess.