Diko on Tuesday welcomed the introduction of a new applied learning stream in lyceums, while calling for parliamentary oversight to ensure its pilot implementation meets students’ needs.

The new programme, known as Direction 5b – Applied Learning in Commerce and Services – will be introduced on a pilot basis from September in one state lyceum in each district. It is designed to provide students with more practical skills and stronger links to the labour market.

House education committee chairman and Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides described the initiative as one that could offer young people “more choices, practical knowledge and skills”, responding to the changing needs of the labour market.

“Our education system must continue to evolve and create different pathways for students according to their interests, abilities and goals,” he said.

At the same time, Savvides stressed that every educational reform should be implemented with careful planning, transparency and continuous evaluation to ensure it genuinely serves students’ interests.

He said he had registered the issue for discussion before the House education committee, where MPs will seek detailed briefings from the education ministry on the programme’s design, curriculum, criteria for selecting participating schools, teacher preparation, student participation and the methods that will be used to evaluate the pilot scheme.

Savvides also said it was important to ensure that the new stream remains an additional option rather than limiting students’ future educational or professional opportunities.

Under the programme, students will follow the existing core curriculum while selecting practical subjects focused on areas such as office administration, applied information technology, marketing and sales, health and wellbeing, green transition and applied biology, and applied technology and skills.

The programme also includes two-week work-related learning activities and training for more than 1,000 teachers.

The pilot will be introduced in five schools: Idalion Lyceum in Nicosia, Lanitio Lyceum in Limassol, Livadia Regional Lyceum in Larnaca, Paralimni Lyceum and Archbishop Makarios III Lyceum in Paphos, with the education ministry monitoring its implementation before any wider rollout.