Cyprus Administrative Court of Appeal upholds termination of primary school teacher

The Administrative Court of Appeal in Cyprus has upheld the termination of a primary school teacher’s probationary appointment, ruling that the Educational Service Commission (ESC) acted lawfully. The decision follows a lengthy period of poor performance evaluations and failed attempts to support the educator in her professional development.

The teacher was initially appointed to a permanent position on a probationary basis on September 1, 2016. Over the subsequent years, she received six consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations from school inspectors. Despite the implementation of a support programme and two separate extensions of her probationary period—first until February 28, 2019, and subsequently until August 31, 2019—her performance did not improve. Following the final negative assessment by two inspectors, the Department of Primary Education recommended the termination of her contract, which the ESC subsequently enacted. The court has now officially dismissed her appeal against this termination and ordered her to pay €3,000 in legal costs to the Republic of Cyprus.

This ruling confirms the authority of the ESC to end probationary appointments when professional standards are not met, despite the educator being provided with additional time and institutional support to improve.