Foreign university branches bill passed with strict provisions
The House plenum passed an education ministry bill on Thursday night introducing strict provisions for the establishment and operation of branches of foreign universities in Cyprus. Greek ambassador Ioannis Papameletiou was present during the
The House plenum passed an education ministry bill on Thursday night introducing strict provisions for the establishment and operation of branches of foreign universities in Cyprus.
Greek ambassador Ioannis Papameletiou was present during the voting, as Greek universities – Kapodistrian and National Technical (Metsovio) – have already expressed an interest to set up departments in Cyprus.
Akel had submitted three amendments to the bill, which were dismissed with 31 votes against them and 16 in favour.
The bill stipulates that a foreign university branch should be a non-profit legal entity, private or public, and sets a minimum number of faculties and programmes to be offered.
The revised bill does not include the initial €2 million letter of guarantee or the right for the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education to reject applications depending on the ranking of the university abroad.
Furthermore, the bill makes it clear that the branches of foreign universities will operate under the same terms as higher education institutions already operating on the island.
Last month, during discussions at the House, the education minister had told MPs that establishing foreign university branches in Cyprus was already permitted by law and was provided for in EU legislation, adding that the bill tabled by the ministry included safety valves for proper evaluation of the branches, the number of faculties and programmes, their relationship with the mother institution and viability studies.
“The branches of foreign universities and foreign language programmes take us forward. We must all behave responsibly,” the education minister said.
During that meeting, MPs said they would decide what was in the best public interest, raised issues of competitiveness between public and private universities and “frivolous administration”, questioned how aware the ministry was of critical issues in tertiary education and said some parties would be submitting amendments to the bills.
On Thursday, House education committee chairman and Diko MP Pavlos Mylonas, as well as other MPs expressed satisfaction over the final form of the legislation and said the presence of foreign universities in Cyprus would be an investment in excellence, with the introduction of qualitative criteria.
Other MPs expressed reservations regarding the viability of the branches offering degrees in English and a possible flood of universities entering the system.
The law, MPs said, offered a golden opportunity for Cyprus to establish itself as a regional centre for education, research and innovation.
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