TEMPERS flared at yesterday’s House Committee on Education during the discussion about the recent decision by the University of Cyprus (UCy) to open its doors to private school pupils.
Acting within its powers of autonomy, the UCy Council had decided that ten per cent of students could be admitted with accredited international exams alone, thus lifting the requirement that all admitted students need to pass the Pancyprian examinations.
The acrimony provoked by the decision and the large numbers in attendance ensured a two and a half hour meeting.
The signs were there before the Committee convened:
“It’ll be six hours before everybody has had their say,” one of the attendees told the Committee’s Chairman DISY MP Nicos Tornaritis.
“I hope not, since I’ve only booked the room for two hours,” Tornaritis replied with a smile.
Most vocal at the meeting were those who set themselves against the decision, with several MPs succumbing to the temptation of accusing UCy of authoritarianism, discrimination, and contempt towards the quality of public education.
The vehemence was so great, that at times one could not help but feel sorry for the beleaguered representatives of UCy and of the newly-formed Association of Parents of Private School Pupils.
Indeed, the mere presence of the latter sparked momentary objections from the teachers’ trade union (OELMEK) since the Association had not been recognised in law yet.
“As long as I am President of this Committee, all those affected will be invited to have their say, irrespectively of whether they’re recognised in law,” Tornaritis insisted, before he went on to express his disappointment at some personal accusations he has suffered.
“It saddens me that some have gone a far as accusing me of favouritism because my own children attend private schools,” he exclaimed.
Tornaritis inaugurated the meeting by advising those present to conduct themselves “in a spirit of calm”.
However, the zeitgeist of calm did not always oblige Tornaritis.
Throughout the meeting, the DISY deputy faced an uphill battle against the truculence of fellow party member MP Andreas Themistocleous.
Themistolceous thought that UCy’s decision afforded a minority (private school pupils) a privilege against a majority (public school pupils).
Tornaritis also lashed out against constant interruptions by DIKO MP Athena Kyriakidou during UCy’s rejoinder.
“Do you want to chair the meeting yourself?” he asked the deputy from Limassol.
OELMEK were the most vocal, raising legal and educational arguments against the decision.
“It is offensive to public school students… the ideology which informs it takes us back to the 1930s,” said George Skalias on behalf of the organisation.
“It is a serious oversight on behalf of UCy not to have a dialogue with those concerned before taking its decision.”
This was echoed by EDEK MP George Varnava: “We’re discussing a decision which has already been made.
“We cannot adopt what UCy has decided.”
Party youth organisations were also present, most rallying against UCy’s decision.
The youths of AKEL, EDEK, of the European Party and of the Greens all took turns to bash the decision, while DIKO’s youth was hesitant to take an official stance on the matter.
The DISY youth were the only ones to support the measure, dubbing it “a modernising step forward” for tertiary education.
University Rector Stavros Zenios admitted his surprise at the intensity of reaction to the Council’s decision.
“Last year we decided along with the Education Ministry that we should increase UCy’s numbers.
“An increase in numbers warrants a broadening of the pool from which we accept pupils since otherwise the level would fall,” he explained.
“Every year, we have a sizeable minority who cannot complete their education within four years,” UCy Vice-Rector Constantinos Christofides argued.
“Therefore, the urgency of the matter lies in the fact that the increase in numbers has to go hand-in-hand with a widening of the selection pool,” he added, in reply to calls for a postponement of implementation of the decision.
Spokeswomen from the Education Ministry confirmed that an increase was agreed with UCy, but doubted whether UCy could indeed legally decide the timing and manner of the increase.
UCy addressed concerns regarding the fairness of its decision and knowledge of the Greek language.
It said that the positions given to those from private schools were additional and did not affect the ones reserved for public school pupils, while knowledge of Greek would still be a strict condition for those not taking the Pancyprian exams.
Tornaritis advised that UCy should look at the matter again, before the next meeting of the Education Committee.
“A one-year postponement of the issue would provide the opportunity for a dialogue on the issue, so that no party feels hard done by,” he said.
A new meeting is expected to discuss the issue, once the Attorney-general gives his expert opinion on whether the decision of UCy was within the legal framework or not.
