THE RECTOR of the University of Cyprus, Nicolas Papamichael, handed in his resignation yesterday after the Plenum’s decision to grant students 33 per cent representation in department councils. Papamichael condemned this percentage as excessive.
He described the move as representative of the sentiments of the academic staff and added that he hoped his actions would not affect the running of the University.
Papamichael said he felt it his duty, “to assume responsibility for the failure of university authorities to persuade the House on the correctness of the positions of the Senate with regard to student representation.”
According to Papamichael’s announcement, the Vice-Rector had to be persuaded not to follow suit so as to enable the continued functioning of the university. However, a meeting was called yesterday of all the Heads of Departments, whereby they unanimously expressed their disappointment on the House decision which caused the Rector’s resignation and forced the University into a crisis situation.
The House plenary unanimously adopted legislation giving students 33 per cent representation in each of the university department councils, despite objections raised by academic heads in the House Education Committee.
“We consider the participation of students in University bodies necessary and constructive provided it is maintained at internationally acceptable levels but the percentage of participation voted by the House is far from these levels,” said Papamichael.
In his letter, he expressed his deep concern over the lack of trust shown by the House on the decisions of the Senate, whose “only aim was to ensure the smooth running of the University, maintain the level of standards and the validity of the degrees.”
He hoped his resignation would convey to the political leadership the critical turning point in the university’s development, whose success depended on respect for academic autonomy – not political intervention.
In response, the Students Union claimed the resignation of the Rector was unnecessary and should be withdrawn for the good of the university, adding, there were no winners and losers from the plenum’s decision.
The department councils were previously composed of academic staff and a fixed number of two student representatives. The councils are responsible for making important decisions regarding the direction of the department, the curriculum it adopts and the staff it will hire.
One professor at the university found it difficult to believe that students could have one third of the voting power over principal issues, noting the possibility that they could secure a majority over educated professionals when the academics were away from meetings on research projects.
He highlighted the fact that the USA and UK had no representatives in University governing bodies apart from one or two who had no voting rights in the senate. He also expressed concern that the situation threatened the autonomy of the university through the allegiance of students to political parties.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
