The article-by-article discussion of the government bill allowing public universities in Cyprus—the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT)—to offer English-taught undergraduate programs is set to conclude today in the Parliamentary Committee on Education. During today’s session, MPs will submit their proposed amendments, with the aim of bringing the bill to a vote in the plenary before the summer recess.

One amendment expected to be introduced today is reportedly opposed by both public universities, which believe it would burden their operations.

According to OffsiteNews, the controversial amendment would prohibit the creation of English-language programs unless the same program already exists in Greek.

Speaking to OffsiteNews, the Chair of the Education Committee, Pavlos Mylonas, stated that if there are no objections, the discussion will wrap up today and the bill will move to the final plenary session in 15 days, just before the summer break.

"I'm doing everything I can to move the bill forward, but it's not entirely up to me," Mylonas said, noting that they are waiting on MPs’ amendments.

It should be noted that in previous committee meetings, several MPs expressed strong opposition to the bill. A major point of contention is the idea of establishing English-language programs in fields where there is no existing Greek-language equivalent.

"Most MPs don’t want an English-language program in Pharmacy or Veterinary Science, for example, if there’s no equivalent in Greek, since such programs would be accessible to only a small number of students," Mylonas explained.

OffsiteNews also contacted University of Cyprus Rector Tasos Christofides, who commented emphatically that such a restriction “would burden our work and ultimately undermine the purpose of offering English-language programs in public universities.”

"The restrictions proposed by MPs sabotage the development of foreign-language study programs, and we simply won't be able to implement them," Mylonas added.

He described the amendment as a “pointless gesture,” explaining that the University of Cyprus is currently part of an alliance with nine other European universities, which requires the ability to create English-taught programs, including in fields not currently offered in Greek by UCY or CUT.

“If we’re first required to establish these programs in Greek, it will overextend our budget and prevent us from aligning with the other nine universities,” Mylonas said. “With this provision, the bill becomes pointless for us. It does not serve the interests of public universities,” he stressed.

Nonetheless, if the bill is passed in the final plenary session of 2025, both public universities are expected to be ready to offer English-language undergraduate programs starting in the 2026–2027 academic year.