Cyprus private universities bill passes

The Cyprus parliament voted through a bill allowing the establishment of private universities during its last session before the summer recess, which will allow at least three colleges to become universities from 2006.

The new universities should have at least 1500 students with a minimum of 400 students required in the first year. A suggestion by AKEL deputies to force the private universities to be non-profit failed to pass, but deputies agreed that fee increases should be approved by the Educational Ministry.

The President of Cyprus College, Dr Andreas Eleftheriades welcomed the decision, adding that education in Cyprus will now be looked at in a different light from abroad, even though he said that the bill was not perfect and that Cyprus now faced lots of competition from both regional as well as established universities.

The main stumbling block is how foreign students will be able to attend the private universities, as well as the right for full time or part time employment for foreign students needing to work.

The Executive Dean of Intercollege Dr Nicos Peristianis said that the decision would also give some stiff competition to the University of Cyprus, which is at present the only university on the island.