Cyprus

Short Re.ViCa version by Paul Bacsich, Nikki Cortoos and Gertjan; substantial update for VISCED by Nikos Zygouritsas

For entitities in Cyprus see Category:Cyprus

Partners situated in Cyprus

None.

Cyprus in a nutshell

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, east of Greece, and north of Egypt.

Cyprus is the Mediterranean's third largest island. A former British colony, it became an independent republic in 1960 and a member of the Commonwealth in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is one of the advanced economies in the region, and has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004.

In 1974, following 11 years of intercommunal violence (1963–1974) between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and an attempted coup d'état by Greek Cypriot nationalists who aimed at annexing the island to Greece and were backed by the Greek military junta then in power in Athens, Turkey invaded and occupied the northern portion of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. This event and its resulting political situation are matters of ongoing dispute.

The Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognised state, has sovereignty by law over the entire island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters except small portions that are allocated by treaty to the United Kingdom as sovereign military bases. The island is de facto partitioned into four main parts:

• the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island's area in the south;
• the Turkish-occupied area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 37% of the island's area and recognised only by Turkey;
• the United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two, covering about 3% of the island's area; and
• two British Sovereign Base Areas (Akrotiri and Dhekelia), covering about 3% of the island's area.

It has traditionally been accepted that Greek Cypriots form up to 80%, Turkish Cypriots 18% (not including Turkish settlers), and Christian minorities (including Maronites, Latin Catholic and Armenians) 2% of the Cypriot population. According to the first population census after the declaration of independence, carried out in December 1960 and covering the entire island, Cyprus had a total population of 573,566; of whom 442,138 (77.1%) were Greek Cypriots, 104,320 (18.2%) Turkish Cypriots, and 27,108 (4.7%) others. Due to the inter-communal ethnic tensions between 1963 and 1974, an island-wide census was regarded as impossible. Nevertheless, the Greek Cypriots conducted one in 1973, without the Turkish Cypriot populace. According to this census, the Greek Cypriot population was 482,000. One year later, in 1974, the Cypriot government's Department of Statistics and Research estimated the total population of Cyprus at 641,000; of whom 506,000 (78.9%) were Greek Cypriots, and 118,000 (18.4%) Turkish Cypriots. After the partition of the island in 1974, Greek Cypriots conducted four more censuses: in 1976, 1982, 1992 and 2001; these excluded the Turkish Cypriot population which was resident in the northern part of the island. According to the Republic of Cyprus's latest estimate, in 2005, the number of Cypriot citizens currently living in the Republic of Cyprus is around 656,200. In addition to this the Republic of Cyprus is home to 110,200 foreign permanent residents and an estimated 10,000–30,000 undocumented illegal immigrants currently living in the south of the island. According to the 2006 census carried out by Northern Cyprus, there were 256,644 (de jure) people living in Northern Cyprus. 178,031 were citizens of Northern Cyprus, of which 147,405 were born in Cyprus (112,534 from the north; 32,538 from the south; 371 did not indicate what part of Cyprus they were from); 27,333 born in Turkey; 2,482 born in the UK and 913 born in Bulgaria. Of the 147,405 citizens born in Cyprus, 120,031 say both parents were born in Cyprus; 16,824 say both parents born in Turkey; 10,361 have one parent born in Turkey and one parent born in Cyprus. In 2010, the International Crisis Group estimated that the total population of Cyprus was 1.1 million, of which there was an estimated 300,000 residents in the north, perhaps half of which were either born in Turkey or are children of such settlers. However, some academic sources claim that the population in the north has reached 500,000, 50% of which are thought to be Turkish settlors or Cypriot-born children of such settlers. The village of Pyla in the Larnaca District is the only settlement in the Republic of Cyprus with a mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot population. Outside Cyprus there is a significant and thriving Greek Cypriot diaspora and Turkish Cypriot diaspora in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the United States, Greece and Turkey.

Source: Wikipedia's page about Cyprus

Cyprus education policy

Most pupils in primary and secondary education (87.5 %, 2008/09) attend public-sector schools, which are set up and funded by the government. Private-sector schools are mainly self-funded. Those which are recognized as ‘non profit-making associations’ can be co-funded by the government and other organizations or individuals. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for the administration, organization and all decisions concerning the use of financial resources by schools. Α number of post-secondary institutions offering specialized professional training remain under the authority of various ministries: Labour and Social Insurance, Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, Justice and Public Order, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, and Health. The inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Culture has the overall responsibility for supervising the proper functioning of the schools.

The public education system in Cyprus remains highly centralised. Primary education has been compulsory since 1962 and has for the most part always been free. Attendance at the gymnasio (γυμνάσιο) (gymnasium) level (up to the third grade of secondary school) was made compulsory from 1985/86. Free education was introduced for the first grade of secondary education in 1972/1973 and by 1985/1986 had expanded to include all secondary education grades. All of the laws regarding payment for schooling and compulsory attendance were combined in 1993 under Law 24(I)/1993. This law was made up of four main components:

• Attendance in primary school and the gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) level of secondary school is compulsory until a pupil graduates from the gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) or reaches the age of fifteen.
• Education is provided free of charge in public primary and secondary schools. This includes the gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) and lykeio (λύκειο) (lyceum) levels and technikes scholes.
• The textbooks published by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus or the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs (Υπουργείο Εθνικής Παιδείας και Θρησκευμάτων) in Greece are provided free of charge to teachers and pupils.
• The Council of Ministers has the authority to provide transport to pupils living at a distance from the school they attend. This is either subsidised or free of charge.

One of the most important developments in the educational sector in the 1990s and the 2000s was the expansion of the university sector in Cyprus. The University of Cyprus (Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου) was established in September 1992, the Open University of Cyprus (OUC) (Ανοικτό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου) in September 2006 and the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) (Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου) in September 2007. Moreover, steps were taken to upgrade the private institutions of tertiary education under Law 109 (I)/2005, which provides for the establishment and operation of private universities both as profit and non-profit organisations. Three private universities were granted permission to operate by the Council of Ministers in September 2007: Frederick University, European University-Cyprus and the University of Nicosia. Other important recent developments and reforms in education were as follows:

• The introduction of compulsory education until the age of fifteen – Law 24(I)/1993.
• The establishment of the nine-year basic education period. This became a ten-year period on 14/04/04 with the introduction of a compulsory pre-primary (προδημοτική) year with decision 59.824 of the Council of Ministers. This came into force at the beginning of the 2004/05 academic year.
• The addition to the curriculum of classes in technology and computer science.
• The introduction of a new curriculum in Mesi Techniki kai Epangelmatiki Ekpaidefsi (Μέση Τεχνική και Επαγγελματική Εκπαίδευση) (Secondary Technical and Vocational Education) sector in 2001
• The introduction of the Pancyprian Common Examination in the last year of the lyceum (λύκειο) This is intended to combine the school leaving examination with the examination for the allocation of places at universities and tertiary level institutions in Cyprus and Greece.
• Decision 65.536 on 16/05/07 of the Council of Ministers reduced the maximum class size in all grades of nipiagogeio (νηπιαγωγείο) (kindergarten), primary school, gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) and lyceum (λύκειο) to 25. The implementation of this decision would be applied gradually, starting from 2007/08 and ending in 2010/11. By the same school year (2010/11), the maximum size for a symplegma (σύμπλεγμα) multigrade-class in the kindergarten, the elementary, the gymnasium and the lyceum schools was to be reduced gradually to 20. The reduction of the size of classes in primary and pre-primary education started in 2003 and for the lyceum and the gymnasium in 2005.
• The oloimero scholeio concept began experimentally in 1999/2000 in nine primary schools. In2007/08 120 schools operated as proairetika oloimera scholeia.
• On 17/05/06, decision 63.788 of the Council of Ministers created nine eniaia oloimera scholeia on a pilot basis for the school year 2006/07. In 2007/08, the number increased to fifteen.
• In 2005/06, the optional all-day kindergarten (ολοήμερο νηπιαγωγείο) (οloimero nipiagogeio) operated on a pilot basis in ten classes in rural pre-primary schools. In 2006/07, the institution was extended to 16 nursery classes at 14 state nurseries in rural and urban pre-primary schools. In 2007/08 it was extended to 20 classes.
• The regulation and monitoring of private tertiary level educational institutions – in Laws 67(I)/1996 – 193(I)/2002.
• The pre-service training programme for prospective teachers of secondary education, which had been running at the Paidagogiko Institouto Kyprou (Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου) (Pedagogical Institute of Cyprus) until 2007, was assigned to the University of Cyprus by Law 10/1969-52(I)/2007 and regulations ΚΔΠ 236/2007. The regulations provide that in case the University of Cyprus is not able to offer this programme, the Ministry of Education and Culture can make arrangements for the Pedagogical Institute to offer the pre-service training again for prospective secondary school teachers.

Cyprus education system

Cyprus has a highly developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education. The high quality of instruction can be attributed to a large extent to the above-average competence of the teachers but also to the fact that nearly 7% of the GDP is spent on education which makes Cyprus one of the top three spenders of education in the EU along with Denmark and Sweden. State schools are generally seen as equivalent in quality of education to private-sector institutions.

Pre-Primary education: Pre-Primary Education is compulsory for all children between 4 8/12 – 5 8/12 years old. Children are also accepted over the age of 3. This level of education aims to satisfy the children’s needs for the development of a wholesome personality in an experiential environment which enables them to recognize their capabilities and enhance their self-image. Children from the age of three years to five years and eight months attend one of the following types of institutions of prodimotiki ekpaidefsi (προδημοτική εκπαίδευση) (pre-primary education):

• A public kindergarten
• A community kindergarten
• A private kindergarten

The Ministry of Education and Culture has introduced compulsory pre-primary education for children in the age range from four years and eight months to five years and eight months from the academic year 2004/05. The educational programme in the public and community nipiagogeia retains as many elements of normal family life as possible, with an emphasis on comfort, love, trust, acceptance, safety, respect and the child’s individual personality.

Primary Education: Primary education is compulsory for all children over the age of 5 8/12 and has a duration of 6 years. The aim of Primary Education is to create and secure the necessary learning opportunities for children regardless of age, sex, family and social background and mental abilities. Pupils enter primary education when they reach the age of five years and eight months by 31 August of the year of their registration and attend for six years. Attendance is compulsory. At the end of this period they receive a school-leaving certificate, which entitles them to enter secondary education. There are both public and private dimotika scholeia. According to the ten-year educational programme, the aim of primary education is to create and secure the necessary learning opportunities for children, regardless of age, sex, family and social background and academic ability. Strong emphasis is placed on skills in languages and mathematics, as well as health and environmental education and creative and artistic expression. Recent innovations include the increased use of modern technology, for example, the use of computers as a teaching and learning tool, and the expansion of oloimera scholeia (ολοήμερα σχολεία) (all-day schools) and the move towards integrating pupils with special educational needs into the mainstream.

Secondary Education: Secondary General Education offers two three-year cycles of education – Gymnasio (lower secondary education) and Lykeio (upper secondary education) – to pupils between the ages of 12 and 18. The curriculum includes core lessons, interdisciplinary subjects and a variety of extracurricular activities. The lower secondary school, the gymnasio (γυμνάσιο) (gymnasium), is the first three-year cycle of general secondary education providing education to pupils between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Education in Cyprus is compulsory until the end of the gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) at which point successful graduates receive a leaving certificate, which allows the pupil to enter an upper secondary school, the lykeio (λύκειο) (lyceum) or a secondary level techniki scholi (τεχνική σχολή) (technical school). The main goal of the gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) is to promote the development of pupils according to their age potential and the requirements of society. The gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) is a self-contained unit of general education. It complements the general education offered by primary schools and prepares pupils for education in lyceums (λύκεια) or technical schools. The structure and curriculum of the gymnasia have recently been updated and expanded to include subjects such as the arts, health, nutrition, environmental studies, design and technology. All pupils at the gymnasia study the same subjects. The introduction of the eniaio lykeio (ενιαίο λύκειο) (unified lyceum) (referred to here by the more common term ‘lyceum’) in the academic year 2000/01 has been perhaps one of the most important reforms to the education system of Cyprus in the last two decades. The lyceum (λύκειο) cycle offers a three-year education programme for pupils aged fifteen to eighteen and has as its main focus the general education of pupils as well as the development of their personality. Pupils of the lyceum (λύκειο) must follow a compulsory set of general educational subjects in addition to choosing optional subjects which they select in accordance with their interests, ability and future plans. These subjects provide more in-depth and systematic coverage of a particular field of study. The pupils are assisted in making these choices by counsellors and the committee for the evaluation of pupils’ choices. Success in the lyceum (λύκειο) leads to the school-leaving certificate, which is the qualification for entry into university or any other higher education institution. Approximately 20% of the total student population attend public Mesi Techniki kai Epangelmatiki Ekpaidefsi (Μέση Τεχνική και Επαγγελματική Εκπαίδευση) (Secondary Technical and Vocational Education) (STVE). The STVE programmes include formal technical and vocational education, lifelong learning and training programmes. These are offered in two main streams, either ‘theoretical’ or ‘practical,’ and in various specialties. The programmes last three years and pupils who have graduated from a gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) can attend. The only exception to this is the systima mathiteias (σύστημα μαθητείας) (apprenticeship scheme). STVE apolytirio (απολυτήριο) (school leaving certificate) is equivalent to that of the lyceum (λύκειο) and school leavers from technical schools can compete for places in tertiary education with graduates from the lyceums.

Higher education

Anoteri kai Anotati Ekpaidefsi (Ανώτερη και Ανώτατη Εκπαίδευση) (Higher and Tertiary Education) is offered both by public and private institutions. In the academic year 2008/09 public higher and tertiary education was offered by three state universities: the University of Cyprus (Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου), the Cyprus University of Technology (Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου) and the Open University of Cyprus (Ανοικτό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου) and seven public tertiary education institutions. Tertiary education (Τριτοβάθμια Εκπαίδευση) is provided by the following four types of institution:

• The three state universities: the University of Cyprus, the Open University of Cyprus and Cyprus University of Technology.
• The seven public higher education institutions: the Higher Technical Institute (Ανώτερο Τεχνολογικό Ινστιτούτο) (HTI), the Forestry College (Δασικό Κολέγιο), the School of Nursing and Midwifery (Νοσηλευτική Σχολή), the Mediterranean Institute of Management (Μεσογειακό Ινστιτούτο Διεύθυνσης) (MIM), the Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus (Ανώτερο Ξενοδοχειακό Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου) (HHIC), the Tourist Guides School (Σχολή Ξεναγών) and the Police Academy (Αστυνομική Ακαδημία).
• The three private universities: Frederick University, European University-Cyprus and University of Nicosia.
• Private higher education institutions.

The University of Cyprus is an autonomous academic institution and the first university-level educational establishment on the island. It was established in 1989 and admitted its first students in 1992. The main objectives of the university are the promotion of scholarship and education through teaching and research and the enhancement of the cultural, social and economic development of Cyprus. The official languages of the University are Greek and Turkish and the main language of instruction is Greek. There are currently six faculties: Humanities; Social Sciences and Education; Pure and Applied Sciences; Economics and Management; Letters and Engineering.

Other public schools of higher education are under the control of other ministries, namely the Cyprus Forestry College, the Higher Technical Institute, the Higher Hotel Institute, the School of Nursing, the Mediterranean Institute of Management, the Tourist Guides School and the Cyprus Police Academy. The language of instruction is English at the Cyprus Forestry College, the Higher Technical Institute, the Higher Hotel Institute and Greek at the School of Nursing, the Tourist Guides School and the Cyprus Police Academy. The Mediterranean Institute of Management offers courses in both English and Greek. By a decision of the Council of Ministers, the Higher Technical institute, the Nursing School and the three year programmes of the Higher Hotel Institute accepted their last intake in the academic year 2006/07, as the Cyprus University of Technology now covers all or most of their courses. The private sector of higher and highest education has been offered as of October 2007 by two types of institutions – private universities and higher education institutions. As mentioned in section 2.2. above, the establishment and operation of private universities became feasible by Law 109(I)/2005.

Under the same law, the Epitropi Axiologisis Idiotikon Panepistimion (Επιτροπή Αξιολόγησης Ιδιωτικών Πανεπιστημίων) (Evaluation Committee for Private Universities) was appointed by the Council of Ministers in December 2005. The ECPU approved the application of three private tertiary institutions to be upgraded to university status. Three private universities were permitted to operate in October 2007, following the decision of the Council of Ministers on 12th September 2007:

• The European University-Cyprus with four faculties: Arts and Education Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Sciences.
• Frederick University with six faculties: Architecture, Fine and Applied Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Economic Sciences and Administration and Education.
• The University of Nicosia-Cyprus with four faculties: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Business, Sciences and Education.
• In 2008 the ECPU approved the establishment of a new university, the Neapolis University-Cyprus.

The non-university privately owned tertiary and higher education institutions operate under the Unified Laws 67(I)/1996-221(I)/2004, which regulate the establishment, control and operation of institutions of tertiary education. All such institutions are required to register with the Ministry of Education and Culture. It should be noted, however, that registration does not imply recognition of the degrees awarded. The private institutions of higher education were founded mainly during the last two decades and offer a wide variety of programmes of study at certificate, diploma, bachelor’s and master’s level. At present, there are twenty-four private institutions registered with the Ministry of Education and Culture, which offer programmes of between one and four years’ duration. The different private institutions have similar admission requirements for sub-degree courses, namely a secondary apolytirio (απολυτήριο) and a good level of English. The Department of Higher and Tertiary Education in the Ministry of Education and Culture provides all necessary support to the Kypriako Symvoulio Anagnorisis Titlon Spoudon (Κυπριακό Συμβούλιο Αναγνώρισης Τίτλων Σπουδών) (Cyprus Council for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications) (KYSATS) and the Symvoulio Ekpaideftikis Axiologisis - Pistopoiisis (Συμβούλιο Εκπαιδευτικής Αξιολόγησης - Πιστοποίησης) (Council for Educational Evaluation and Accreditation) (SEKAP). SEKAP is the body responsible for accreditation of courses while KYSATS evaluates qualifications offered both in Cyprus and abroad.

The Department of Higher and Tertiary Education DAAE is the competent authority within the Ministry of Education and Culture for Higher Education as regards to the following sectors:

• State Universities of Cyprus (economic budget, legal matters, international cooperation).
• Private Universities (registration, educational evaluation - accreditation)
• Private Tertiary Education Institutions (registration, inspection, educational evaluation - accreditation).
• Administrative support for the implementation of the work of the Cyprus Council of Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (KYSATS). Support for the work of the Council of Educational Evaluation – Accreditation (SEKAP) and support to the Evaluation Committee of private universities (ECPU).
• Entrance Examinations for the Higher and Tertiary Educational Institutions of Cyprus and Greece and for appointments in public and semi-governmental organisations.
• Student Affairs.
• European Programmes on Higher and Tertiary Education Issues.
• Public Institutions of Tertiary Education Most public institutions of tertiary education were established as joint projects between the Republic of Cyprus, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Gradually, the Cyprus Government has taken over the responsibility for their operation. The main objective of these institutions is to provide education and training in professional disciplines to satisfy the local demands. Public Institutions of Tertiary Education operate under the supervision of various Ministries (Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and Ministry of Justice and Public Order). Each Ministry is responsible for the organization and administration of the institution. Consequently, in cooperation with the Administrative Council, the Principal and the Staff Council of each institution may promote regulations as regards to the contents and level of studies, the criteria for student admission, the number of students accepted each year, the curricula, and the evaluation system.

The following Public Institutions of Tertiary Education operate: (a) The Higher Technical Institute (b) The Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus (c) The Nursing School (d) The Cyprus Forestry College (e) The Mediterranean Institute of Management (f) The Police Academy (g) The School for Tourist Guides Each Institution has a different structure and offers programmes of studies in specific technical – professional fields which lead to a Higher Diploma. The academic staff consists of Senior Lecturers, Lecturers, and Instructors. The members of the academic staff apart from the Instructors hold a University Degree and most of them hold additional academic qualifications at postgraduate and doctoral level. The Mediterranean Institute of Management (MIM) is the only non-university level public institution which awards a one-year postgraduate diploma for studies in Business Administration and Public Administration.

Private Institutions of Tertiary Education

• A.C. American College
• Alexander College
• Arte Music Academy
• Atlantis College
• Casa College
• C.D.A. College (Lefkosia, Lemesos, Larnaka)
• College of Tourism & Hotel Management
• Cyprus College (Lefkosia, Lemesos)
• Cyprus College of Art
• Cyprus International Institute of Management
• Frederick Institute of Technology (Lefkosia, Lemesos)
• Global College
• Intercollege (Lefkosia)
• Intercollege (Lemesos)
• Intercollege (Larnaka)
• InterNapa College
• KES College
• Larnaca College
• Ledra College
• M.K.C. City College Larnaca
• P.A. College
• Rea College
• Susini College (Lemesos)
• Susini College (Lefkosia)
• The CTL EuroCollege
• The Cyprus Institute
• The Cyprus Institute of Marketing (Lefkosia, Lemesos)
• The Philips College
• Vladimiros Kafkarides School of Drama

Universities in Cyprus

• University of Cyprus
• Cyprus Academy of Art
• Cyprus University of Technology (started in 2007)
• European University - Cyprus (changed name in 2007)
• University of Nicosia (changed name in 2007)
• Frederick University
• Neapolis University
• Cyprus Institute
• Open University of Cyprus

A complete list can be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Cyprus

Higher education reform

Government policy regarding higher education aims to fulfil the local needs for higher education and to establish Cyprus as a Regional Education and Research Centre. In order to enhance access to Higher Education the Ministry of Education and Culture will take a series of measures to expand higher education provided in Cyprus. The following are the most important of these measures: • Expansion of state universities. • Ongoing registration of new programmes of study at private institutions of higher education (total number of registered programmes: 515). • Ongoing Evaluation – Accreditation of new programmes of study offered by private institutions of higher education (total number of evaluated-accredited programmes: 175). • Strategic measures for the gradual increase of students at public universities: In the academic year 2010/11 students at the University of Cyprus will increase by 11.6 % and students at the Cyprus University of Technology will increase by 4.04 %.

The Council of Ministers has proceeded with the establishment of the Cyprus Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency for Higher Education with its decision No. 66010 dated 5 September 2007. Following this decision, a draft legislative decree was finalised and presented to the House of Parliament. The Minister of Education and Culture has appointed a specialist committee of university professors and high rank administrators with the objective of proposing a new unified Law for Higher Education.

The Bologna Process

Although not an original signatory to the Bologna declaration in June 1999, Cyprus joined the process at the first ministerial meeting after Bologna, held in Prague on 17 May 2001 and was a signatory to the Prague Communiqué. In this way, Cyprus has signalled its support of the main objectives of the Bologna Process, namely the increase in mobility and employability of European higher education graduates, thus ensuring the competitiveness of European higher education. The Directorate of Tertiary Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for the implementation of the main trends and aspects of the Bologna Process in Cyprus. These aspects include the existence of a higher education structure based on three cycles, the adoption or general implementation of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), the Diploma Supplement, the establishment of a national qualifications framework and joint/double degrees, as well as, the development of measures for quality assurance. For an overview of the national reforms or current arrangements as regards Cyprus. A useful reference is the Eurydice publication, Focus on the Structure of Higher Education in Europe 2006/07 – National Trends in the Bologna Process

Administration and finance

Budget expenditure for education and culture increased by 12.5% in 2009 reaching €1.071b. The increase could rise to 16% if €12m for the student aid package and €26m for school infrastructure were added. As regards culture in particular, the allocated funds for 2009 had almost doubled, from €23.7m in the previous year to €46.5m.

Cyprus's HEIs in the information society

• Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The Ministry of Education and Culture has obtained suitable educational software for standalone use when installed on school computers, while it has proceeded to prepare Digital Educational Content (DEC), for the DIAS project. The DIAS project promotes ICT in all schools. Under DIAS (Diadiktiako Scholeio – Internet School) a Learning Management System has been developed, which will cover all services for students, teachers and parents. More specifically, the following services will be provided: Digital Educational Content for all subjects, which will be accessible both from school and home; Personal e-mails and websites for students and teachers; access for parents to information on the educational progress of their children; Ethernet connectivity in all schools. DIAS began its pilot phase in November 2008 in eight schools and it will expand to all schools by 2014.
• ICT and Lifelong Learning. The idea is to offer classes using ICT, so that adults that attend evening secondary schools and evening technical and vocational schools, can study at home and attend school less frequently. This will enable more people to attend evening schools.
• ICT and School Management System. School Management System is at its initial stage. All procedures involving schools and the Ministry will be performed using ICT, aiming at decentralization, more efficiency and more accountability. Data Warehouse technology will be used. School Management System is expected to begin operation in 2011.

Virtual Campuses in HE

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

The Open University of Cyprus (OUC) is the only institution in Cyprus dedicated to lifelong learning and distance education and its focus is to design and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as training and vocational programs to serve the needs of the wider community. The degrees awarded by the Open University are equivalent to those of all accredited universities worldwide, regardless their teaching methodology. Building courses on the bans of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) provide students with the opportunity to interchange between conventional universities and the Open University of Cyprus.

Re.ViCa Case-study

None.

References

1. Governmental Portal
2. Governmental Portal > Education
3. Wikipedia's page about Cyprus
4. Styliani Kleanthous and Frances Bell, E-LEARNING STRATEGIES IN CYPRUS, http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/stellak/e-learning-Kleanthous.pdf
5. Eurydice National Overview on European Educational Systems (2011)
6. Eurybase, The Information Database on Education Systems in Europe: The Education System in Cyprus, 2009/10

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