Lefkara will pursue “what rightly and justifiably belongs to it”, mayor Sophocles Sophocleous said on Friday, insisting a planned new technical school should be built in the Kornos district of Lefkara.

His remarks come after President Nikos Christodoulides announced on June 30 that a green technical school will instead be established in the municipality Dali in the Nicosia district.

The announcement was made during the president’s presentation of development projects for the area on Monday.

After speaking to Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, Sophocleous said a meeting has been arranged for July 17, at which he said he will ask if the president’s statement reflects a formal decision by the Council of Ministers.

He also intends to demand that any assessments and opinions from all relevant government departments be submitted and published.

The mayor wants a clear explanation as to why Lefkara’s proposal for the school in Kornos was rejected.

Sophocleous stressed he has already told the minister he rejects the idea of “gifts,” referring to alternative compensation projects in other parts of the municipality, and insisted that Lefkara would not accept substitute plans.

“The municipality of Lefkara,” he said, “will fight to the end for what rightly and justifiably belongs to it.”

The dispute stems from a joint request by the Larnaca district government organisation (EOA) and Lefkara municipality to build a technical school in Kornos.

Their proposal, submitted to the ministry of education, aimed to boost local development and upgrade technical education in Cyprus.

It argued that Kornos is in a good strategic location, offers a natural green environment, and has available state land that would spare the government additional costs.

Students from the Kornos area currently go to high school in Dali.