His strategy, for Higher and Higher Education, was presented before the Education Committee by the Minister of Education, Athina Michailidou, who noted that it revolves around four axes and is important to have a check on the branches opened by foreign universities.
The previous parliamentary term had ended with tensions between the members of the Education Committee and the Ministry of Education, since the former were not satisfied with what the Government had brought before them, regarding the institutionalization of an audit procedure in the branches of foreign universities and indeed they had left fire for sloppiness on the part of the Ministry of Education and the absence of public discussion.
A position that had caused irritation in the Ministry of Education, which rejected the sloppiness, but also the reports that there had not been any prior consultation with the agencies involved, stressing that all the rectors had given their opinions.
The Minister of Education, Athina Michailidou, in her first appearance for the new parliamentary term, developed before the MPs the strategic plan of the Ministry of Education for Higher Education and the actions it will take to improve the conditions and the education provided. As the Minister of Education mentioned in her presentation, at the moment there are three public universities in Cyprus, more than twelve private ones and 45 schools of higher education.
“For many years it had let the matter go. We have notified all universities, public and private, and colleges of higher education. Our goal is to improve education. A large percentage of GDP comes from Higher Education”.
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The four axes
< p data-block-key="a7lb7">Then Ms. Michailidou noted that efforts to improve Higher Education revolve around four axes:
-Quality Upgrade-Excellence
-Interconnection of Higher Education with the Labor Market
-Internationalization of Higher Education
-Scholarships and employment of foreign students
“Policy decisions stem from the program of governance. It was recently heard that the public university, the University of Cyprus was not up to date. Meetings were held with the rectors, statements were also made. We held meetings in the summer as well, and let me emphasize that the issues are such that we do not expect to have an agreement on all issues. We codified the opinions we heard and it will need Ministerial approval for the final proposal”.
The Minister of Education explained that some horizontal actions have been decided and are being implemented, such as the agreement with Greece, to ensure the recognition of all the universities of Cyprus, public and private. At the same time, scholarships are provided and people from the universities of Cyprus are used to help with the programs of the Ministry of Education, the research activities of the universities are interconnected with challenges faced by businesses, while synergies are developed between the universities.
< p data-block-key="9m4a1">The actions to upgrade Higher Education
Referring to the actions to upgrade Higher Education, Athina Michailidou noted that based on strict criteria, university schools, such as Medicine, have been established so that there are not enough schools and a problem is created. He added that there are institutional and program evaluation criteria for everyone.
“We want strict criteria, as well as the interconnection of decisions with the Government's priorities and needs work. For example, we can direct those who want to open branches. The establishment of foreign universities is allowed. What we want to do is control the branches of foreign universities”.
As far as the state universities are concerned, the Minister of Education noted that a special committee has been established to control TEPAK, for each use of funds and the University of Cyprus is expected to take the order and then the Open University. “All state universities, since they receive state funds, will have control. We want to ensure that in state universities, strategic objectives are linked to the governance agenda. We analyze financial data and cost study programs and also examine and exploit synergies. We are also promoting legislation for foreign language undergraduate programs”.
Referring to private universities, Ms. Michailidou noted that “there was no separate legislation for private matters and we are doing it now. There was no separate report, we see them separately. We have taken opinions from everyone, we have incorporated some opinions and where we disagree we will document it. For Medical School, there will be criteria in the legislation”.
Schools of Higher Education will be closed
Then the Minister of Education referred to the Schools of Higher Education noting that controls are being tightened and they will not hesitate to close those schools which do not meet the criteria, for example they have no students and are created for other purposes. “They have been established, we have received many suggestions, you will be informed soon”, he emphasized.
Regarding the connection with the labor market, the Minister of Education noted that Cyprus is one of the first countries with university graduates, but half of them are unemployed or work in professions not related to their degree and this is what the Ministry of Education wants to change, with the programs it promotes. In fact, there is also an inter-ministerial committee on this specific issue, to monitor the results, in which the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Labor participate, among others.
It is noted that with regard to internationalization, the well-known Branding, the minister noted that actions are taken and implemented to promote the name of Cyprus Higher Education abroad, in order to market the final product.
Timeline for the implementation of actions of the plan
Referring to the timetable for the implementation of the actions of the Ministry of Education's plan, Athena Michailidou noted that by the end of 2024 she wants the legislation on the branches of foreign universities to be passed, as the dialogue was completed and the relevant bill was promoted before the Parliament, while in the same period of time the legislation on foreign language undergraduate programs is expected to be promoted. As he noted, the bill is expected to be forwarded to the Legal Service for legal technical review and will then be presented to the Ministry for approval and submission to Parliament for discussion and voting.
As for the legislation on private universities, the Minister of Education noted that the dialogue has been completed, an exchange of views has taken place and the bills are being submitted to the Legal Service and then the procedure for submission to the Parliament will be followed, so that by June 2025 relevant legislation has been passed .
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