Filenews 24 October 2025 - by Evangelia Sizopoulou
About 10,600 students of all educational levels need the management and intervention of the Educational Psychology Service (YEPS) of the Ministry of Education on an annual basis.
Based on the available data, it is estimated that 30% of children referred to the YEPS face learning difficulties, around 29% face learning difficulties with comorbidity of other diagnoses (e.g. learning difficulties and neurodevelopmental delay or learning difficulties and communication difficulties or learning difficulties and violence/delinquency), around 9% of children referred face emotional difficulties while 8% of children show violence and aggression in comorbidity with other diagnoses.
As far as the ratio of students to educational psychologists is concerned, it is: 1,850 students for each educational psychologist.
The above data are included in texts accompanying the budget of the Ministry of Education for 2026, as it has been promoted in recent days in Parliament, where it will soon be discussed in the parliamentary committee on Finance.
According to the references in the text, educational psychologists evaluate children in schools mainly for learning or emotional problems or for behavioural problems. In addition to the initial assessment, there is very often a need for re-evaluation of children in schools and this is due to various reasons, such as a change of education level or a re-evaluation of the child's needs. Also, educational psychologists offer counselling to parents/guardians, teachers and students and participate in multi-thematic meetings, where the cases of children they evaluate are discussed.
Children who face various problems, such as learning, emotional, behavioural or difficulties related to their psychosocial field, are referred to the YEPS.
It is recalled that according to a report by "F" last July, the cases of students who had to be referred during the last school year (2023 – 2024) to the YEPS amounted to 10.598 in order to be supported in various issues they face and which need to be managed and addressed. This was a particularly increased number compared to the immediately previous school year (2022 – 2023) in which the corresponding cases of children were 9.316.
It is worth noting that both these issues, as well as several other issues managed by other Services of the Ministry of Education, are part of the wider framework of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Violence at School 2024-2028, which is being implemented by the Ministry. As it points out, its firm position is the promotion of safe schools, that is, protection from all forms of violence, seeking to ensure that schools are a safe environment that promotes participation, inclusion, the cultivation of values and the development of the potential of all members of the school community and especially students.
Reference is also made to the implementation of the provisions of the Prevention and Response to School Violence Law of 2020, which came into force in August 2024. On this issue, the Ministry of Education informs that it has proceeded with the establishment of Committees, which formulate and monitor the implementation of its policy on issues of violence and delinquency.
Specifically, the Safe School Coordinating Committee (SEAS), chaired by the Ministry's Director General, and the Safe School Team (OAS), chaired by the Director of the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute for 2024-2025, have been established, which supervises and coordinates the work of preventing and dealing with violence and delinquency in schools.
