MPs discuss cost of studies and student welfare

The cost of studies, as well as student grants were at the centre of a discussion at the House education committee on Wednesday. Addressing the MPs, chairman of the committee and Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides, said that the cost of education had risen sharply within recent years, with costs of studying at a public university in Cyprus amounting to at least €60,000. This does not include the tuition fees which are free for Cypriots studying at public universities. He argued although the government had taken some small steps, these were insufficient, and requested answers to the questions raised by MPs from the ministry of education and finance, as well as the legal service within 15 days. “We did not receive clear answers to key issues from the government today,” he said. Akel MP Christos Christofides spoke of a “very difficult situation for thousands of families”, saying that financial support for students had been stuck for many years. He argued that the amount of student welfare should be returned to the levels of 2013 and suggested the adjustment of existing criteria, as well as special support for large families and said that student support should be readjusted based on the consumer price index. “There should be an automatic readjustment of the amount of grants, allowances and income criteria based on the movement of the consumer price index,” he said. Disy MP Podromos Alampritis said that his party had submitted specific proposals and was awaiting responses from the education and finance ministry, noting that he was not satisfied with the positions articulated so far. “Student welfare must be linked to a broader demographic policy that will practically support the Cypriot family,” he said. Alampritis highlighted that he had received reports of students dropping out of the Technical University (Tepak) in Limassol and instead turning to the University of Cyprus in Nicosia and Greece, where the cost of studying and living is “much more affordable”. “If we care about demographics, we must support children, especially students,” he said, calling for an increase in income criteria and the number of available student beds. Meanwhile, education ministry spokeswoman Cleo Savvidou said that studies are currently underway for the construction of 900 student beds at the University of Cyprus, while at the same time works for the creation for 500 beds for Tepak were ongoing in Kato Polemidia. Finance ministry spokesman Gabriel Mithillos, on his part, said the recent tax reform provides considerable reductions to families with studying children and assured that the ministry would study the proposals handed in by the MPs. Spokesman of the Pancyprian Organisation of large families, Ioannikios Fakas, argued that the amount of money given to students by Cyprus was “unacceptable”. He said that the student support legislation had made it more difficult to obtain funding, and he pointed out that the number of people receiving child benefit had fallen from 10,065 in 2012 to 3,166 in 2024. “We have weakened our families,” he said.