Τhere are four types of primary education institutions with special status:
● Primary school classes that are held in children’s hospitals.
● The primary school in Rizokarpasso, in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus. In 2010/11, this school had four teachers and eighteen children.

According to a 2026 European Parliament Research Service report, the school faces:

• Obstruction of teaching
• Interference by Turkish authorities
• Teachers being prevented from entering the village
• Educational materials being blocked or even destroyed
• Only ~15 pupils currently enrolled

These restrictions do not mean the school is closed — only that it operates under pressure.
The primary school in Rizokarpasso, in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus. In 2010/11, this school had four teachers and eighteen children.

● Home education. In the case that a child is too ill to attend school, the Ministry of Education and Culture arranges for a teacher to teach the child at home.
● Greek community schools that function in the United Kingdom for the Greek and Greek Cypriot diaspora communities living there. The Cyprus Educational Mission (Kipriaki Ekpedeftiki Apostoli) of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth supervises these institutions and an Inspector residing in the UK has been appointed specifically for this mission. Most of these schools offer classes of Greek as a second language after school hours or at the weekend, while a small number of institutions operate as full day Greek schools. Greek language books have been adapted to the needs of the children residing in the United Kingdom.  

Public primary education in Cyprus is centrally governed by the Department of Primary Education under the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MESY).
Key responsibilities include:

• Administration and oversight of all primary schools
• Staffing, inspection, and teacher training
• Standardized curriculum and educational planning
  This means curriculum, teacher qualifications, and educational goals do not differ between rural and urban schools.
   

Operating instructions for primary schools are provided in the information on primary education regulations and mergers of primary schools. 

Cyprus’ public sector primary education system is centrally organized, but rural areas often operate smaller, multi grade or single structure schools due to population size and geography. These variations mainly reflect demographic realities rather than different curricula or governance, which remain standardized nationwide. Below is a clear breakdown of how rural primary schooling differs from urban settings, based on the structure and governance of Cyprus’ primary education system.

Public primary schools are classified as follows:

• Single teacher: Schools with one class
• Teacher or Teacher strengthened: Schools with two classes
• Three-teacher or Three-teacher strengthened: Schools with three classes
• Multi-teacher: Schools with more than three classes.

The number of children in the various types of primary schools and kindergartens is determined by the Council of Ministers following a proposal by the Minister, after consultation with P.O.E.D. and the organized parents/guardians.

The principal of each school divides the children of the school into classes according to the instructions of the Director of Primary Education.

In schools with 2-5 teachers, classes (clusters) are formed with neighboring classes that are usually co-taught. The maximum number of students in pure classes is 25, while in class clusters it is 20.
Public primary education in Cyprus is centrally organized and delivered in Greek in the government controlled areas. Cyprus does not currently operate bilingual (Greek–Turkish) public primary schools, but bilingual education is an active policy discussion, and multilingual practices appear in specific contexts (e.g., migrant rich schools, language support programs). 
Cyprus’ public primary education system today, is monolingual (Greek) .Bilingual Greek–Turkish education is under active political negotiation.
Multilingual practices exist informally due to migrant populations, but the curriculum remains monolingual.

There are no public primary sports schools in Cyprus.
Sports specialization begins later, and the only “Sports School” model currently visible is in the private sector, not the public system.