Key features of the Education System

The right to education: Article 20 of the Constitution states that every person has the right to receive and every person or institution has the right to give instruction or education, if it is in accordance with the Republic’s laws.
Compulsory education: Compulsory education lasts for ten years and 4 months and extends from the age of 4 years and 5 months (pre-primary education) to the age of 15 years (end of lower secondary education). 
Free education: Public education is free for all students in the age range of 3 years to 18 years.  Textbooks are also given to both students and teachers free of charge. 

Stages of the Education System 

Early childhood education and care is organized on:

• The pre-school system
• The pre-primary system

The pre-school system comes under the remit of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and involves day nurseries (vrefopaidokomikoi stathmoi), where care and supervision is offered to childrenof noncompulsory education (0 to 4 years and 5 months).
The pre-primary system comes under the remit of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth and involves kindergartens (Nipiagogeio). It concerns children in the age range of 3 years to 6 years.   

Useful links

Further information on the education system of Cyprus may be found on the following websites:

• Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth
• Cystat / education
   

For a brief description of the structure of the education system, please see the following schematic diagram.

3.Early childhood education and care

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is organised in two discrete systems based on age, namely the pre-school and the pre-primary system. The pre-school system involves day nurseries (International Standard Classification of Education level 0), and childminders, all operating under the remit of the. The pre-primary system involves kindergartens operating under the remit of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. All types of institutions are co-educational.

The pre-school system

Day nurseries (pedokomikoi/vrefokomikoi stathmoi) are open to children from birth until the age of 4 years and 5 months. There are public, community and private day nurseries.  
Public day nurseries are established by the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare in cooperation with the Parents’ Association and the local authority for the area where the institution is located.
Community day nurseries are established and run by local authorities on a not-for-profit basis.
Private day nurseries are established and supported by individuals, usually on a for-profit basis.
Home-based care is also available. Childminders are persons entitled to look after a few young children at home.
There are no educational guidelines from top-level authorities for the pre-school system. 

The pre-primary system

Kindergartens (Nipiagogeia) are open to children from the age of 3 years. In September 2004, attendance for children aged between 4 years and 8 months and 5 years and 8 months became free and obligatory. As the starting age for compulsory primary education has recently been raised by 4 months, since 2020/2021 attendance has been free and complulsory until children are 6 years old A recent undergoing major reform which was included in the context of the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026, is the gradual 8 months extension of free compulsory pre-primary education.  The reform was implemented in 2024-2025 and will be fully implemented in 2031-2032.
There are public, community and private kindergartens.
Public kindergartens are established by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. Public Kindergartens may operate with one teacher (monodidaskala), with two teachers (dididaskala) or with three or more teachers (polydidaskala).
Community kindergartens are established by a Parents’ Association, a local authority, a municipality, a Welfare Community Council, a Trade Union or a charitable organisation, following approval by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. They operate on a not-for-profit basis, usually in areas where the number of public kindergartens is insufficient to meet the needs of the community. In many cases, they are co-located with public kindergartens, and they serve mainly children in the age range of 3 years - 4 years and 5 months. Community kindergartens are subsidised by the Government, with an annual grant of EUR 7.500-13.000 each.
Private kindergartens are established and operated by private individuals with the approval of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, and they run on a for-profit basis. There are three types of private kindergartens, as follows: 

• Same type: They follow, without any exception, the curricula and the timetables of the public kindergartens.
• Similar type: At least two thirds of their curricula and timetables are the same as those of the public kindergartens.
• Other types: They are neither of the same type nor of a similar type. They follow their own curricula and timetables, subject to approval by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. 

All the different types of kindergartens are registered with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth and they are subject to inspection by the Department of Primary Education.
Note that a day nursery may be integrated with a kindergarten and thus open to children up to the age of 6 years old. Integrated day nurseries are registered with both the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, each ministry being responsible for one age group of children.
The preschool education curriculum applies to kindergartens.