Filenews 7 May 2022 - by Vassos Vassilio
A total of 3,664 students from 14 countries are studying in Cyprus, as evidenced by a reply by interior minister Nikos Nouris to a question by AKEL MP Christos Christofias.
Most students come from India, Nepal and Bangladesh, while Greece sends the fewest students. Regarding the country of origin of the students, in addition to the above countries, students also come from Niger, Russia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, the USA, Iraq, Israel, Egypt and Ukraine.
The reply of the Minister of Interior states that "the total number of foreigners who attend the Private Colleges and Universities of Cyprus and hold a valid residence permit is 3,664. The answer also contains a relevant table in which the issued permits for the temporary residence of students in the Private Colleges and Universities of Cyprus are mentioned. In fact, reference is made to the "fourteen most popular countries of origin" of students.
In relation to a second question by Mr. Christofias, regarding the control of virtual students, the Minister refers to the Ministry of Education, which has the competence.
It is recalled that the Ministry of Interior, considering that some colleges were used as a means of descent of foreigners in Cyprus, under the cloak of the student (while in fact they were channelled to the market as cheap labour) differentiated the procedure for granting entry / visa to prospective students from third countries, in order to avoid the applications for political asylum submitted by students. In the year 2020, the Ministry of Interior, investigating the whole issue, came to the following conclusions:
>>Some colleges enrolled far more students than they would be entitled to based on the classrooms they have, which probably points to tax evasion.
>>Many students did not even step into the classrooms, to the point that in some of the colleges this phenomenon was the norm.
>>In colleges there were more enrolled than allowed under their license. For example, in a college instead of 400-500 that he could enrol, he had 700-750.
>> The classrooms were too small for a number of registered students, so whatever they wanted would be impossible for everyone to attend (it refers to virtual course attendance).
>> Because many students did not enter the college, they were even sent the answers to the exam questions.
>> Professors were encouraged to discreetly let students copy during the exams.
>>In some of the colleges, Cypriot students were counted on the fingers of one hand and were simply written without appearing and in some cases they allegedly received sponsorship for their studies.
>>Many students of some colleges were employed in pig farms, slaughterhouses, agriculture or companies that packed fruit or in other jobs or, if they are girls, they work as cleaners.
It is also noted that in an unscheduled audit conducted previously by the Ministry of Education, it was found, among other things, that one student out of a total of 24 was found in a college room, corresponding to 4%. However, in a planned audit, at the same college, 39 of the 41 students were found in the class, corresponding to 95%. In the same school, 39 of the 40 students were found in the next inspection, i.e. 98%.
The current situation with approved students is as follows:
1 INDIA 1293
2 NEPAL 787
3 BANGLADESH 235
4 NIGER 146
5 RUSSIA 134
6 PAKISTAN 94
7 LEBANON 76
8 JORDANIA 60
9 U.S.A. 57
10 IRAQ 54
11 ISRAEL 54
12 EGYPT 53
13 UKRAINE 53
14 GREECE 51
