Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Education expressed their disagreement, with the intention, as they said, of the Ministry of Education to exclude students from the Pancyprian entrance exams for the universities of Cyprus and Greece.
They also expressed their dissatisfaction Opposition MPs for the fact that the Ministry has not yet submitted a relevant bill with amendments for conducting the Pancyprian Access Examinations to the higher and higher educational institutions of Cyprus and Greece. He promised, however, to do so by April 7, they said.
“It is our position that through the cooperation of the executive and the legislature, any amendments must be regulated quickly so that these examinations can be carried out smoothly,” said in his statements after the session, the DISY MP, George Karoullas.
The Ministry of Education, he said, promised that on April 7 it will submit a relevant bill with the amendments that they have agreed through cooperation so that the issues can be settled. The goal, he said, should be the strengthening of the access examination system so that with the appropriate schedules, the senior students can be discharged.
Christos Christofidis, AKEL MP, said that “unfortunately once again the Ministry “Education was not able to submit a specific bill for the changes that must be made to conduct the Pancyprian Examinations this year without problems and without legal loopholes.”
He said that while a political decision has been made for so long, April is coming and the seniors are preparing feverishly for their final and entrance exams, but the Ministry is still discussing the legal arrangements that need to be made.
“Such an arrangement is not going to pass,” Mr Christofides said. Especially this year, he added, “with the failure of the four-month exams there is a risk of a larger number of unreviewed”. Their exclusion from the entrance exams, he said, will deprive a large number of places in the public universities of Cyprus and Greece of senior students who in a few days can pass their exams and get a diploma, but will not be able to claim a place in the universities.
Answering a relevant question, Mr. Christofides said that this year the final exam for seniors is changing, which is also used for access purposes and there will be two final exams, one for dismissal purposes and one for admission to public universities and the corresponding ones must be done. legislation.
Asked if the Pancyprian Examinations are on the air, Mr. Christofides replied that “it would be an exaggeration to say such a thing,” as the developments have been launched and what has not been done so far, are the legislative regulations so that they proceed on the basis of the political decision on how the exams will be held this year. “There is a commitment to submit them on April 7 and there is also a commitment from the Education Committee that it will consider this bill quickly to finally resolve this backlog,” he said.
DIPA MP, Alekos Tryfonidis, said that the revision of the institutional framework regarding the Pancyprian Examinations was discussed in order to be in line with the new schedules with the four months that have been created, and due to the pandemic, for the smooth operation of the Pancyprian Examinations. The overall reform of the Pancyprian Examinations will be examined later, he said.
He said that their disagreement with the Ministry of Education, regarding the points they have examined, is the exclusion of students who will be examined in the second four months. , from the Pancyprian Examinations.
“They should be given the opportunity to attend the Pancyprian Examinations and if they later pass the examination and have the opportunity to be admitted to universities for four months,” he said.
“Here is our disagreement with the Ministry, we believe that the Education Committee as a whole will help these children and give them a second chance “, he added.
Special arrangements for students from Tillyria
Mr. Tryfonidis also said that they made a timeless request made by DIPA from last year but also today from other MPs, which are the special arrangements that must be made, as he said, for the children from the area of Tillyria, for their inclusion in universities, and in particular to give them more points.
These children, he said, suffer daily with their parents, and are forced to go to tutoring in either Paphos or Nicosia. “They live there and guard Thermopylae and this state must support them with this special regulation as it is done with the special regulation for the children who live and study in Karpasia”, he added.
