Lawmakers in Cyprus’s House Education Committee on Wednesday debated a controversial bill proposing the establishment of branches of foreign universities in the country.
Members of Parliament (MPs) criticised the Ministry of Education for allegedly rushing the bill without sufficient consultation with Cypriot universities and other stakeholders.
The Ministry, however, defended the proposal, stating branches would operate under the same evaluation and accreditation standards as domestic universities.
The Cyprus Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education (CYQAA) President Mary Koutselini emphasised the need for regulations to ensure fair competition between Cypriot and foreign university branches. Citing the example of Greek universities, she argued that foreign branches should operate as private institutions.
MPs expressed concerns about the bill’s timing and potential impact. Some stressed the need for a national strategy for higher education before considering foreign university branches.
DISY MP George Karoullas underlined that they are awaiting the national strategy for tertiary education to be presented to Parliament. “We put the cart before the horse. We needed to have the foundations in place before addressing other details.”
AKEL MP Christos Christofides accused the Ministry of Education of carelessness and actions that tend to blow up Cyprus’s tertiary education in the air. He emphasised that there is a lack of coordination and strategy and that there has been no consultation with stakeholders and experts in the field.
A representative of the University of Cyprus noted that the proposal had not been adequately prepared. “We will open branches without having resolved our outstanding issues. We need to clean up and sort out our own problems first. The legislation is incomplete.”
He emphasised that there had been no dialogue, a point also made by a representative of the Cyprus University of Technology. “There has been no consultation beyond the 10 minutes before the start of today’s discussion in Parliament. We need time. We are not ready to move forward.”
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