University of Cyprus asked for an additional €58.5 million, Audit Office says

At the end of last year, and after the University of Cyprus (UCy) had formally filed its budget request for €81.2 million, it later requested an additional €58.5 million, the Audit Office said on Thursday on the back of reports about financial mismanagement.

In a statement, the Audit Office said the university filed its budget request to parliament in November 2022, asking for €81.2 million – about the same amount it had requested in prior years.

Subsequently, in December, UCy came back asking for €58.5 million in extra funds. The cabinet obliged in part, filing a supplementary budget for the university for €37.3 million.

The Audit Office said it has asked the university’s internal auditor for a report on the state of finances as of December 31, 2022.

Earlier this week, former UCy rector Constantinos Christofides called on the current rector to quit, accusing the university management of incompetence in handling finances.

Christofides claimed that during his tenure, the university had attracted funds from a number of sources.

He said that between 2011 and 2018, while he was rector, the university secured €40 million in endowments annually. But during the 2018-2022 period these donations slowed down to virtually zero, resulting in an imbalance between revenues and expenses.

About 60 per cent of the UCy budget is covered by the state grant, with the university’s own resources accounting for the remaining 40 per cent. The latter have dried up considerably.