Progress over bill on foreign universities in Cyprus

Education Minister Athena Michaelidou on Wednesday presented a new amendment to the bill surrounding foreign universities in Cyprus.

Attending a House Education committee, she said the aim is to ensure quality of education is ensured by strict criteria for any foreign university that wants to open in Cyprus, or setup a branch in the country.

Asked if she was concerned about an increase of universities in Cyprus and a possible impact to existing universities due to a potential reduction of their students, Michaelidou said “EU law requires us to be open to this and our legislation has allowed this since 2015.

“It’s just that this is the first time that we have had requests – not officially – from two major universities in Greece. Kapodistriako and Metsovio.”

At the moment there have been no other requests from other foreign universities.

A key aspect is to ensure the quality is education is upheld, and this will translate into strict criteria for the staff, the location and the infrastructure, she specified.

Entrance to the universities will not be with the pancyprian exams but other criteria.

The minister said MPs appeared positive over the revised bill.