Fury at proposed accreditation fees

PRIVATE colleges yesterday blasted a government move to impose fees for registration, inspection and accreditation of their courses.

They told the House Education Committee the proposed fees were too steep and could drive them out of business. And they said that it was discriminatory for the state to impose extra costs on tertiary private education, while private primary and secondary education received state aid.

Their proposal was for the Education Committee to set up a subcommittee to examine all the problems facing private colleges.

The Education Ministry countered that the proposed fees were lower than the actual costs involved.

The issue remains before the committee.

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.