Filenews 14 July 2025 - by Evangelia Sizopoulou
The rectors of the University of Cyprus and CUT see the passage of the legislation regulating the offer of foreign-language undergraduate study programs by our public academic institutions as a beginning. The rectors of the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus University of Technology, Tasos Christofides and Panagiotis Zafiris respectively, refer to the decision of the Parliament after several years of dealing with this issue, seeing it as a first step, but acknowledging that there are restrictions that universities would not want.
However, apart from the formal part of the process and how the new data have been perceived by those directly involved, it is of particular importance how they are applied in practice. One of the points that is of particular interest is the number of foreign language programs that universities can offer based on the provisions of the new legislative framework. As we have been informed, the University of Cyprus will be able to offer six such programs plus two interdepartmental, i.e. a total of eight, while CUT will be able to offer three foreign languages plus one interdepartmental, i.e. a total of four.
Asked whether the conditions exist for the immediate implementation of the legislation by institutions, Rector Tasos Christofides answered in the negative, noting that there are procedures that must first be followed as well as the necessary certification of the programs by the competent CYPAE Body. However, he pointed out that the University of Cyprus has an organized interdepartmental program at the School of Economics and Management, which may be one of the first to "run" in this context. According to Mr. Christofides, in the best case, universities will be able to offer foreign language programs from September 2026.
T. Christofides: It's a beginning
As soon as the legislation was passed on Thursday evening, the Rector of the University of Cyprus, Tasos Christofides, made the following post on social media: "The Parliament approved tonight the draft regulations regarding the offer of foreign-language undergraduate study programs by public universities. I have not seen the final text, but I watched the debate on television. There are several restrictions that you won't find in other countries. I hope that, despite the restrictions, we will soon be able to offer a small number (this is what the regulations that have been passed) of foreign-language undergraduate study programmes. It's a start. We have covered the first metre on a road one hundred metres long. I would like to express my regret for the derogatory characterizations for the academic staff of public universities that were heard during the debate."
P. Zafiris: Strengthening the internationalization of public university education
On his part, the Rector of the Cyprus University of Technology, Panagiotis Zafiris, proceeded to issue a written statement, in which he characterizes as an essential first step and a noticeable progress towards strengthening the internationalization of public university education in Cyprus, the adoption of the legislative framework that allows public universities to offer curricula in a foreign language as well.
"I welcome the passage of the legislative framework that allows public universities to offer curricula in a foreign language as well. This vote comes after more than ten years of public and parliamentary debate and is an essential first step towards strengthening the internationalization of public university education in Cyprus.
In recent years, we have worked systematically and methodically, presenting our positions and highlighting the importance of this initiative for the country's public universities. Through an open and documented dialogue, we have repeatedly underlined the strategic need to strengthen internationalization, which is a crucial factor for academic progress, extroversion and the overall development of the Cypriot academic space.
I would like to congratulate the strong political will of the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Dr. Athena Michaelidou, for the outcome of this issue and her commitment to a strategic direction that seeks to make the country's public universities more open, more competitive and more attractive in the international environment.
As a university, we must now make the most of the opportunities offered by the new framework. Already, in recent years, by identifying the importance of inter-university curricula, as encouraged by the EU, through the alliances of European universities, we have been working intensively on the development of foreign language curricula, while accelerating the discussions already underway with international universities on the joint offer of joint inter-university curricula. The institutionalization of an exception in the legal framework of the possibility to offer inter-university programs in any language is a particularly positive development for our university.
Although the adoption of the legal framework constitutes significant progress, I express my concern about specific restrictions that have been incorporated along the way by the Parliament's Education Committee. Such restrictions, although they seem to reflect concerns and pressures coming from factors external to public universities, create unnecessary inconvenience to our goal of extroversion.
However, we must continue with consistency, responsibility and creativity, utilizing every possibility of the legal framework that has been voted and claiming, as always, with documented positions, further improvements in the future, based on academic quality and the public interest", says the rector of CUT in his message.
Minister of Education: Higher Education is changing
In a statement, the Minister of Education, Athena Michaelidou, noted that the passage by the Parliament of the legislation on the offer of foreign-language undergraduate study programs by public universities is a historic breakthrough and a crucial step that has been pending for seven years.
"This is an institutional development that enhances the extroversion of our public universities, expands the possibilities of attracting foreign students and creates new prospects for international collaborations. The institutional provision for the establishment of branches of foreign universities in Cyprus, on the basis of a strict and transparent legislative framework, is also included in the same framework. This policy is not conjunctural. It is a strategic choice that aims at the internationalization of the university sector and the emergence of Cyprus as a regional hub of knowledge and innovation."
He also mentioned that Cyprus invests in Higher Education not only as a public good, but also as a key pillar of development of its economy, adding that "by creating a strong institutional framework, we ensure that internationalization goes hand in hand with upgrading the quality and strengthening the public character of our universities. As the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and as a government, we stand firmly by the side of public universities in this new phase, in which they are entering. We will continue to work with them so that the implementation of foreign language programs is done in a way that enhances the credibility, prestige and dynamics of Higher Education at an international level. Our Education is changing and Higher Education is becoming the bridge between Cyprus and the world".
