The Parliamentary Education Committee will seek corrective measures with the aim of advancing the discussion on the offer of foreign-language undergraduate programs by the country's public universities to the Plenary of the Parliament before the summer recess of the body's work.
In his statements on Wednesday after the end of the session, the Chairman of the committee and DIKO MP, Pavlos Mylonas, said that there is great concern in the committee and many concerns from many MPs regarding the issue of foreign language programs.
He added that the discussion will continue the following Wednesday, with the hope that it will be completed so that amendments can be submitted by all MPs so that, if possible, the issue can go to the Plenary before the summer recess of the Parliament.
AKEL MP Christos Christofides said on the issue that he is aware that the University of Cyprus has proposed to the Ministry of Education that the Pancyprian entrance exams be included as an admission criterion for the university's foreign language programs for a percentage of the places, and that those Cypriots who will enter through entrance exams will not pay tuition fees.
"The Ministry of Education rejected it because it believes that the main thing is to pay tuition fees. We consider this very important because in our opinion it demonstrates the real approach of this Government. And the real approach is that the university's expenses must be covered with its own resources, in this case from tuition fees. It must be understood by everyone, both academics and students and Cypriot society, that this new approach overturns the entire model on which universities have been based until now, to be public, to be funded by the state, to emphasize research. This successful model will change drastically if the Government's philosophy that universities must find their own resources is imposed. "Little by little, I have no doubt that if this logic passes, there will be tuition fees for everyone everywhere so that universities can cover the costs, that's what experience says," he added.
For his part, independent MP Andreas Themistocleous said that the bill, as it came, provides that the professors of a department will decide on their own about the level that their newly admitted students should have, there will be no stability, while there is no indication that they will be financially viable, self-financing, as the Ministry of Education says.
"I hope that even in the future, corrective actions will be taken by the Ministry of Education. Of course, I know the Minister of Education's guilt, but on the other hand, many people think that because responsibilities will be sought in the future after we cease to exist in political life, that with a mea culpa at some point from their home, they will remove the sin from them," he concluded.
Source: KYPE
