25-08-16 Filis assures special education teachers about tenured hiring  

Education, Research, and Religious Affairs Minister acknowledged the important work and service of special education teachers, even as he assured a delegation representing special education teachers’ associations that the ministry has no intention of downgrading their specialised training and degrees in the appointment of substitute special education teachers.

At a two-hour meeting with the teachers at the ministry, Filis reiterated that Special Education and all issues pertaining to it have been a high political priority for him. He said that this year alone 9,100 substitute special education teachers in all categories will be hired. He also noted that the hiring of special education staff increased by 45 percent in the 2014-2015 school year.

Nikos Filis said that special education teachers must not fall victim to disinformation.

He noted that a similar situation of confusion and disinformation arose last April, even in official communiqués of the Federation of Greek Teachers (DOE) regarding the false allegations that induction classes would be eliminated, and [main opposition] New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ assertions that all-day schools would be abolished. “It was a lie and that was proven over time. This year, for the first time in eight years, 500 new induction classes were established at schools all over the country,” Filis said.

Nikos Filis also confirmed plans for the appointment of tenured special education teachers. “We agree that there must be permanent appointments. It would have been done this year if the creditors’ evaluation had finished on time. Now the evaluation is over and we can commit ourselves to tenured appointments in September, 2017,” he said.

For teachers to be in place by September, 2017, we must discuss this autumn, now in other words, the appointments procedures, because the old system was legally dismantled, it is over. Whoever says otherwise is lying. The system with two registries was legally displaced by the ruling of the Council of State,” Filis concluded.