Indicator history

Cypriot education is currently undergoing its first ever comprehensive reform, currently at its early stages of implementation. The modification of school curricula, one of the items on its agenda, is introduced gradually. The new curricula pay particular attention to issues of diversity and multiculturalism. At the level of primary education, the new curriculum was partly introduced in 2011, it will be expanded in 2012 and its introduction will be finalised in two years. At the level of secondary education the introduction of the new curriculum is still at its early stages. In addition, a team of experts was set up to assess the curricula from the perspective of disability, gender, multiculturalism and making use of new technologies. This team will also be involved in teachers’ training and in evaluating the teaching tools. An anti-racist dimension has been added in the teaching of all subjects, including mathematics. Also, the teaching of the mother tongue of migrant and ethnic communities is seen by the Educational Reform team as crucial for the empowerment of these students; it is currently implemented only in schools belonging to the Educational Priority zones (i.e. schools in impoverished areas with a high concentration of migrants or Turkish speakers) but there are plans to implement this measure in all schools throughout Cyprus (Source: interview with Prof. Giorgos Tsiakalos, head of the educational reform committee) .