2026

Development of higher education

In an interview on July 26, 2026, the minister of Education, Sport and Youth, stated that 
Cyprus has invested in recent years in the development of higher education and in attracting students from abroad, with the aim of making Cyprus a center of higher education and excellence, where the quality of the education provided will play a primary role. 
The minister emphasized the need for improvement and upgrading of higher education by focusing on internationalization, academic excellence, research and innovation and the interconnection of higher education institutions with the labor market.
The promotion of Cyprus as a quality, regional center of education and research is a constant strategic goal of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. To this end, a strict and institutionalized control framework has been established, which ensures that the development of the higher education ecosystem in Cyprus does not work at the expense of quality. A key pillar of this mechanism is the CYQAA, which is an independent authority, which applies strict evaluation criteria, in accordance with the European Standards and Quality Indicators (ESQ) of higher education. 
The formulation of the government's policy regarding the financial support of students, their accommodation and their access to psychosocial support services is in line with the priorities of the European Higher Education Area regarding the strengthening of the social dimension of higher education. The main objective of this approach is to ensure equal opportunities for access to and participation in higher education, by addressing social, economic and geographical barriers. 

2025

The Higher Education landscape in Cyprus is undergoing significant transformation. In response to these changes, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth is advancing the implementation of Higher Education strategy. This strategy is built on the following key pillars: internationalisation, quality enhancement, and stronger interconnection with the labour market needs.

The Parliament's adoption of the legislation on the offer of foreign-language undergraduate courses of curricula by public universities is a historic breakthrough and a crucial step that has been pending for seven years. This is an institutional development that enhances the extroversion of Public Universities, expands the possibilities of attracting foreign students and creates new prospects for international collaborations.

Cyprus invests in Higher Education not only as a public good, but also as a key pillar of development of its economy. By creating a strong institutional framework, the ministry ensures that internationalisation aligns with upgrading the quality.

The government, through the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth stands firmly by the side of public universities in this new phase, in which they are entering. The ministry will continue to work with them so that the implementation of foreign language programmes is carried out in a way that enhances the credibility, prestige and dynamics of Higher Education at an international level.

2024

In the same context, the institutional provision for the establishment of university foreign branches is also included in Cyprus, based on a strict and transparent legislative framework. This policy is not conjunctural. It is a strategic choice that aims at the internationalisation of the Universities and the establishment of Cyprus as a regional hub of knowledge and innovation.

For this initiative, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth promoted the amendment of the legislation on the quality assurance in Higher Education. The amendment provides for the establishment and operation of foreign branches of Universities, from the European Union and from third countries, in Cyprus.

The benefits of the legislation are concrete and consistent with the wider government’s effort to upgrade and improve the quality of Higher Education in Cyprus. Essentially, the amendment concerns the modernisation of the legislation, the promotion of Higher Education internationalisation, and the upgrading of its quality.

The amendment paves the way for further competitiveness, and therefore for further quality assurance in the field of Higher Education.