Just another brick in the wall

Cypriot teenagers are the biggest dunces in Europe today, the CM announces. 

Requirements for teachers in Cyprus

Slightly unfair, we think, when we all know how well-read, knowledgeable, sophisticated and enlightened a society Cyprus is.

The just published OECD 2012 PISA report (Programme for International Student Assessment) covers the academic performance of 510,000 students worldwide, aged 15-16, who were tested in maths, reading, and science. 

65 countries took part, including all 34 OECD member states (Cyprus is not an OECD member), 21 of which are EU members and 13 are OECD members but non-EU.  The other participants included non-European countries. 

Slightly misleading of the CM to use the attention-grabbing strapline:  “Last in the sciences, second last in maths, and third from the bottom in reading” for the Cyprus results. 

That's not last in the world.  Just Europe.  Whoohoo.  

Out of the 65 countries participating globally, Cyprus ranked 46^th overall – after Turkey (44^th) and Romania (45^th).  Out of the EU participants, only Bulgaria came out worse than Cyprus overall, although the Bulgarian kids were better than the Cypriot kids at science.

Column 1 of scores: Maths Column 2: Reading Column 3: Science
for the full chart click on the image

Out of the three subjects, Cypriot teenagers did slightly better at reading compared to maths or science, with 449 points (44^th overall), but still behind the Slovakian teens' reading score.  Maths in Cyprus scored 440 points (46^th overall), behind Romania.  Science in Cyprus had the worst result with 438 points, ranking an abysmal 50^th out of 65, also behind Romania in science, and just ahead of Costa Rica and Kazakhstan.

 

These kids are supposed to be the the future of Cyprus.  In 10 years' time they will be entering the job market, maybe.  Cyprus's future doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, bankers, and government employees...  

  

Footsteps has written about the state education system in Cyprus before.  It doesn’t look like the problems are going to go away quickly.  State teachers with no formal teaching qualifications or classroom training, no practical teaching experience, recruitment through nepotism, interested mainly in their pensions and 13^th salaries, in bed with the trade unions, strike actions, and barely educated themselves in the subjects they teach, e.g. English teachers who can’t speak English.  How, then, are the kids supposed to learn anything? 

the minister of education said: "duhhh"

The current minister of education and culture, Kyriakos Kenevezos, is a 41-year-old lawyer, elected to government office just 9 months ago.  Has he ever taught kids?  Are his kids in a state school or in one of the elite private schools of Nicosia?  Perhaps if he spent less time eating and spouting gobbledegook such as “success will require collective work”, something might be done about education reforms.  Maybe...  

If the status quo continues, Cyprus will become a Third World country, if it isn’t already. 

Father of all mercies, we ask that You would bless the youngest and littlest of learners, the most helpless and powerless of persons, with Your infinite and loving mercy, granting them the strength to learn, concentrate, and act in love towards their teachers and fellow students.  We also ask that You would watch over them, at home and at school, and give them proper direction, so that they may learn of Your wonderful virtues.  We ask this in the name of Your son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.