Our View: UCy admissions policy should be decided by its administration

It was a surprise to hear education minister Athena Michaelidou would consider the introduction of English language undergraduate courses at the public universities. Although some postgraduate courses are being offered in English, it would still be a big step to do the same for bachelor’s degrees for a variety of reasons, ranging from the political to the practical.

For example, has she considered the political opposition such a move would spark, from all those who have maintained that a public university has an obligation to preserve the country’s national identity, of which language is the most important element. This was one of the reasons the taxpayer picks up the annual bill for the University of Cyprus and Tepak, without charging any tuition fees to undergraduates.

It could be argued that few undergrad courses in English would not undermine the character and role of public universities, but this still does not explain why there is a need for them. The minister said this would assist the “branding” of the university as well as its “internationalisation,” but it seems rather optimistic to think that offering some undergrad courses in English would achieve this.

Private universities, which already offer many courses in English, would probably object to such a move because it could be seen as unfair competition. Public universities would have an unfair advantage over the private ones, as they are state-funded and would be offering the degrees for free. Whereas this is justified for Greek language degrees it would be much more difficult to justify in the case of English language courses.

The other idea Michaelidou was considering – and is probably linked with the above – was to open the admissions policy, something the previous administration of UCy attempted but encountered strong opposition from teaching unions and political parties. The minister talked about opening up admissions to students of private schools, who did not sit the Pancyprian exams.

There has been no reaction from the unions and parties to this suggestion, perhaps because it was mentioned as an idea and no decisions had been taken. It is a decision that must be pursued, especially as the UCy administration supports it. The admissions policy of the university should be decided by its administration and not by the unions and political parties, as a matter of principle. The university has no autonomy or independence if it cannot shape its admissions policy without outside interference and pressure.

If the university’s administration decides it can take some students, based on their results in international exams such as A levels and IB, nobody should be able to stop it. Free university education should not be the exclusive right of students from the public education system and it is a positive development that the educations minister is of this view.