The education ministry faces uncertainty over its plan to introduce new literature textbooks for the 2025-2026 academic year, as philology teachers raise concerns about the changes.
Despite the ministry having ordered and received the new books at its warehouse, objections from the OELMEK philologists’ association have put the implementation in doubt, the philenews sources report.
According to reliable sources, teachers have two main concerns: the books’ increased difficulty level for students and the relatively short seven-year interval since the last textbook change, which they consider too frequent.
The ministry maintains that the change is necessary, particularly regarding the third-year book, which is part of the Pan-Cyprian Examinations, arguing that the current teaching cycle has run its course.
The new textbooks include:
- First year: “The Rain Water” (short stories) by M. Karagatsis
- Second year: “Helen, or Nobody” (novel) by R. Galanaki
- Third year: “At Hatzifrangou” (novel) by K. Politis, replacing the current text “Astrofengia”
Schools have been instructed to collect the second and third-year books immediately from the ministry’s warehouse, while first-year books will be distributed once student numbers are finalised.
Students will be required to return the books at the end of the academic year.
The issue is set to be discussed at an upcoming meeting between OELMEK and the ministry’s secondary education director.
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