By George Psyllides
Education Minister Costas Kadis has asked the rector of the University of Cyprus (UCy) to withdraw a decision to enrol students with GCE and International Baccalaureate (IB) qualifications who have been accepted by other universities but have not taken the entrance exams.
In a letter to Constantinos Christophides, the minister said the procedure he had announced without any consultation with the education ministry “creates a series of problems and therefore I urge you to withdraw its implementation.”
The letter was given to parties during a meeting of the House Education Committee attended by Kadis.
The minister said it was a unilateral action on the university’s part and the decision could be in violation of the law.
“We think it was inappropriate and a hasty process, especially at a moment when UCy and TEPAK (technical university) in co-operation with the education ministry, have agreed to an alternative student admission procedure into public universities in Cyprus and Greece,” the minister said.
The procedure is linked with the university entrance exams and a bill is currently undergoing processing by the Legal Service.
Political parties also oppose the rector’s decision.
Student unions said the move promoted private schooling and reduced available places for students entering through the exams.
UCy said no public school students would be deprived of a place at the institution.
The university sees the scheme as a way to enhance its benchmark of academic excellence, but also to help tackle the impact the economic crisis has had on many Cypriot families.
The new transfer scheme requires interested students to have already been accepted at an international university but they must have not yet started their studies. The UCy website clearly states the grade requirements for each degree programme. An important requirement is proficiency of the Greek language regardless of the student’s nationality.
Last week secondary school teachers union OELMEK slammed the move by the university saying: “This decision in our opinion violates the due process to enter the University of Cyprus based on the law for Pancyprian exams and it will work against students who were guaranteed a place based on their exam results.”
The university reassured that this was not the case and that no state school students would be deprived of a place. Rather it would help private school graduates attend the university if they didn’t have the means to study abroad.
OELMEK called for an immediate intervention by the ministry to stop those students entering the university “with processes that are not provided for by the law.”
