Cyprus EducationTrends and Issues

by:

Ronan Sierra SantosRonan Sierra SantosEDUC 311B

Cyprus

• An island country in the eastern Mediterranean sea south of Turkey.

• It is the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis.

• Became independent from Great Britain in 1960 but large scale fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots led to the installment of a UN Peacekeeping Force in 1965.

• In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and established a separate Turkish state in the northern part.

• Divided into 2 de facto states: The Republic of Cyprus (2/3 of the island) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (1/3 of the island)

2 Countries in 1 Small Island

Cyprus

• Languages: Greek and Turkish

• Religions: Christianity (predominantly Greek Orthodox) and Islam

• Currencies: Euro and Lira

• Population (2008): 300,000 (north) , 800,000 (south)

• Land Area (Metro Manila): North: 5 times the size; South:13 times the size

Education in Cyprus Republic

• has a highly developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education. The high quality of instruction can be attributed to a large extent to the above-average competence of the teachers but also to the fact that nearly 7% of the GDP is spent on education which makes Cyprus one of the top three spenders of education in the EU along with Denmark and Sweden.

• State schools are generally seen as equivalent in quality of education to private-sector institutions. Greek and Cypriot universities ignore high school grades almost entirely for admissions purposes. While a high-school diploma is mandatory for university attendance, admissions are decided almost exclusively on the basis of scores at centrally administered university entrance examinations that all university candidates are required to take.

• The majority of Cypriots receive their higher education at Greek, British, Turkish, other European and North American universities.

• It is noteworthy that Cyprus currently has the highest percentage of citizens of working age who have higher-level education in the EU at 30% which is ahead of Finland's 29.5%.

Education in North Cyprus

• Kindergarten– Children in Northern Cyprus, below

age 6, can attend kindergartens of public and private institutions. Not mandatory.

• Elementary School– Provides 5 years of education for

children between the ages of 6 and 11. All elementary schools are public and free.

Education in North Cyprus

• High School– Provides a minimum 6 years of

education, where 3 years last for junior high school (Ortaokul).

– Kinds of High School – standard public high schools– private high schools– science high schools– vocational high schools (technical and fine

arts)

As of 2008, there are 18 high schools, 14 junior high schools and 12 vocational high schools.

Current Trends• WWW Entry - CyprusEducation.com

• CyprusNet is a vortal network» Is a multifaceted Network of Vertical

Portals.

• What is a Portal?– A portal is a Website that acts as a "point of

entry" to the Web. Typically, a portal will provide a directory of links to sites, a search engine, and other services. A typical portal is Yahoo.com

• It is a comprehensive advertising medium which enables businesses to reach the maximum number of new customers, not only within Cyprus, but also across the globe.

The Cyprus Network• A Vortal is a Vertical Portal. A specialized portal that

serves a particular Industry or Business Sector, rather than trying to be all things to all people. Therefore a Vortal (Vertical Industry Portal) is a website that provides a gateway or portal to information relating to a particular industry, such as the Tourist industry, Services industry, Manufacturing Industry and so forth.

• A Vertical Industry - is one that is focused on a relatively narrow range of goods and services whereas a horizontal industry is one that aims to offer a wide range of goods and services. As more and more industries tend to specialize, more and more industries are becoming vertical. A Vertical Industry is one that is focused on a relatively narrow range of goods and services whereas a horizontal industry is one that aims to offer a wide range of goods and services. As more and more industries tend to specialize, more and more industries are becoming vertical.

Trends and Issues

• ERASMUS Programme 1987 - 1994• SOCRATES Programme 1994 - 1999• SOCRATES II Programme 2000 - 2006• Life Long Learning Programme 2007 - 2013

ERASMUS Programme

• European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students

• is a European student exchange programme established in 1987. It is the operational framework for the European Commission's initiatives in higher education.

• Aim: To encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students and teachers within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as well as EU candidate countries such as Turkey.

• The programme is named after the Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, known as an opponent of dogmatism, who lived and worked in many places in Europe to expand his knowledge and gain new insights

ERASMUS Programme

• ERASMUS has a number of specific objectives:

1. to improve the quality and to increase the volume of student and teaching staff mobility throughout Europe, so as to achieve at least 3 million student and teacher exchanges by 2012

2. to improve the quality and increase the amount of multilateral cooperation between higher education institutions in Europe

3. to improve and increase cooperation between higher education institutions and enterprises

4. to spread innovation and new pedagogic practice and supports between universities in Europe

ERASMUS Programme• To participate in the ERASMUS programme students must be

studying for a degree or diploma at a tertiary-level institution and must have completed their first year. They also have to be a citizen of one of the countries in the wider Lifelong Learning Programme.

• Students who join the ERASMUS programme study for a period of at least 3 months to an academic year in another European country. The ERASMUS programme guarantees that the period spent abroad is recognised by their university when they come back as long as they abide by terms previously agreed.

• In order to reduce expenses and increase mobility, many students also use the European Commission-supported accommodation network, CasaSwap, which is a free website where students and young people can rent, sublet, offer and swap accommodation - on a national and international basis. A derived benefit is that students can share knowledge and exchange tips and hints with each other before and after going abroad.

ERASMUS Programme

• For many European university students, first time living and studying abroad become a cultural phenomenon and it is gaining popularity.

• The programme fosters not only learning and understanding of the host country, but also a sense of community among students from different countries and it can be hard to know what one might expect.

• The ERASMUS experience is considered both a time for learning as well as a chance to socialize. "ERASMUS parties" are known in university cities across Europe for being boisterous, multilingual events.

Lifelong Learning Programme

• 2007–2013 (referred to as the "Integrated programme") is the European Union programme for education and training.

• It includes a variety of support actions, most notably the iconic ERASMUS programme.

• It was established by Decision No.1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006.

• It is the single financial instrument available to the Commission for its directly managed education and training policies during the period covered by the European Union's current financial perspective. It continues the main actions launched under previous action programmes.

Lifelong Learning Programme The Comenius programme, supporting actions for schools (from pre-

primary schools to upper secondary or equivalent)

The ERASMUS programme, supporting exchanges of students in higher education, as well as cooperation between universities and colleges, etc;

The Leonardo da Vinci programme, supporting actions in initial and continuing vocational education and training (including student and apprentice exchanges, cooperation between colleges, etc)

The Grundtvig programme, supporting actions in the field of adult education

The Transversal programme covering activities in four themed areas across all sectors of education and training: policy cooperation and innovation in education and training; foreign language teaching; development of ICT-based content and services; and dissemination of results of the programme;

The Jean Monnet Programme, supporting institutions and actions in favour of European integration.

Lifelong Learning Programme

@ Exchanges between Individuals @

In-service training courses in school or adult education. The Comenius and Grundtvig programmes support participation in specific short work placements (internships) for vocational students in companies in another country, to help them complete their skills

Erasmus Student exchanges of between 3 and 12 months, in which students leave their home university and follow an agreed part of their course at another university in another country. No additional fees are payable, and the course is recognised by the home institution as part of course-work for the degree.

Lifelong Learning Programme

@ Exchanges between Institutions @

Developing partnerships between schools in different countries ("Comenius partnerships") to run joint projects for and with their pupils. Similar projects are supported in the field of adult education by the Grundtvig programme

Joint projects run by universities in different countries to develop joint curricula, run short-term intensive programmes, or establish thematic networks in different disciplines.

Lifelong Learning Programme

@ Connections between Countries @

Study visits for regional and national administrators in education, training and guidance

Networks of national experts working together on issues of common interest

Publication of comparable statistics indicating how the various education and training systems are progressing.

This presentation is taken from various references

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