It is a hot potato for the Ministry of Education for what will be born with the high school students and more specifically the way that their entrance to the universities will be achieved, due to the new data caused by the pandemic. Education circles are already focusing on three scenarios for how to get seniors into universities. The first scenario wants the pan-Cypriot exams to take place - albeit with a relative delay. The second scenario under consideration is to take into account the scores of either the current year or the last two years, while the latter scenario leaves the final decision to the universities themselves. The higher education institutions, that is, to set the criteria for admission of new students.
Pancyprians with delay
Circles of the Ministry of Education consider as very likely the scenario that the pan-Cypriot examinations will finally take place. What is being discussed, however, is to postpone it until the end of June at the latest, which is expected to raise a number of new issues for the Ministry of Defense, as this delay gives the impression that it leads to a delay in recruiting new recruits and not dismissal and extension of the military service of the national guards already serving. An extension that will surely provoke further reactions, since, as credible sources of "K" report, the classification of the new recruits cannot be postponed. What is certain, however, is that while for the AD and BD Lyceum it has been decided to cover the curriculum for the senior students, through distance learning, for the DG Lyceum it has been decided to start the repetition of what the students have been taught until and the last day the schools were open.
Entry according to score
Of course, the issue of pan-Cypriot examinations will depend on how long the measures taken by the government will be valid. For admission to higher education institutions, the possibility of taking into account the score of the current year or the last two years is being studied. As educational circles note, this may cause a lot of reactions and problems as the way of grading differs from school to school and from province to province.
In the hands of universities
Of course, the possibility of the Ministry of Education leaving such a thing to the discretion of the Universities is also being studied. In other words, the higher education institutions should set the admission criteria for their new students. This means that they may take into account the students' grades during the current year or set other criteria for the admission of new students. Of course, this will not be the only problem that will concern higher education institutions, but also the big issue of transfers. The period of transferring students from abroad to the Cypriot educational institutions had ended in March, before the great crisis of the pandemic occurred, in its entirety. Given the developments both in Cyprus and in other countries of study, such as the United Kingdom and Greece, there is an issue of increasing interest of students to transfer to a Cypriot university. The issue was also raised by the secretary general. of AKEL Andros Kyprianou in a recent press conference he cited about how the Ministry of Education will handle the coronavirus crisis. As stated by the secretary general of AKEL, both the Ministry of Education and the Universities should be prepared for the possibility of mass transfers of Cypriot students from abroad and the increased demand. Increased demand both due to the difficult situation prevailing in student countries such as the United Kingdom, and for economic reasons that may arise in some families due to the pandemic.
Source: Kathimerini