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1. Educational support

2. Social cohesion and equal opportunities

Educational support

Special Education

The Ministry of Education,  Sport and Youth 2020 Annual Report states that the inclusion of children with special needs is a matter of major policy for the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (MESY). Children with special needs are educated in public schools equipped with suitable infrastructure, according to the Laws for Special Education. Most children with special educational needs are educated within mainstream classrooms. However, children with severe difficulties are educated in the nine Special Schools, which are staffed with qualified personnel – including teachers specialising in learning, intellectual, functional and adjustment difficulties, psychologists, speech therapists, nurses, physiotherapists and other specialists, supported by auxiliary staff. These schools aim to provide high quality therapy, education and support. Based on the 2023 Annual Report of the Ministry (Ετήσια Έκθεση 2023; p. 12), the approved public budget of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth for Special Education in 2023 was €11 800 000  and provides for the employment of teaching, therapeutic and auxiliary personnel, training and professional development of staff, equipping classrooms and individual children with specialised tools, modifying buildings to enhance accessibility, transporting children with special needs to and from school and to out-of-school activities, and covering the operational expenses of Special Schools, among other needs.

A series of capacity-building seminars on special education is being developed to assist school principals, teachers and care assistants support children with special needs during their classes and within the school environment. All teachers are encouraged to attend courses of professional development (Προγράμματα – Σεμινάρια) run by the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute. Attendance at in-service seminars is mandatory, while participation in local seminars is encouraged. A series of pedagogical discussions - meetings is being organised in order to support teachers, counsellors and liaison officers in addressing the needs of pupils with special needs as effectively as possible. These professional meetings are conducted by educational psychologists, university lecturers and other specialists.

Most children with special needs attend mainstream schools, while those in special education schools face the most significant learning difficulties. Hence, the curricula (Ειδική Εκπαίδευση – Εκπαιδευτικό Υλικό) in these schools are heavily focused on skills development in areas such as self-help and independence, social and emotional interaction, recreation and communication as well as vocational training. Whenever a child is able to follow elements of the mainstream curriculum, provisions are made for this. The content of the curriculum, subjects offered, and duration of instruction are decided by each individual school. There is no compulsory or optional curriculum framework. Students study based on their capabilities.

For more information regarding Special Education in Cyprus, please visit the relevant section in the Eurydice website (Chapter 12) and the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education.

Social cohesion and equal opportunities

Policies in formal education

Since 2016, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth implements an upgraded educational policy pertaining to Multicultural Education, named “Policy Paper on the Integration of Pupils with Migrant Background to the Cyprus Educational System”. This Policy focuses on the smooth integration of pupils with migrant background into the educational system through the prism of an intercultural approach, anti-racist education, and the methodology of teaching Greek as a second language, via a variety of targeted actions, measures, educational materials, guides and supporting documents. The five priorities of the Policy include: 1. learning the Greek language; 2. reception of newly arrived children with a migrant background; 3. Teachers’ education and continuing professional development; 4. collection and analysis of data on the needs of pupils with migrant background, and 5. an intercultural approach in the new curricula. There are a number of methodological tools developed to support the effective implementation of the Policy, which are available for free in Greek and other foreign languages in the official website of the Policy (Εκπαιδευτική Ένταξη Παιδιών με Μεταναστευτική Βιογραφία – Οικοσελίδα) and in the links below:

• Didactic materials (Διδακτικό υλικό)

• Supporting documents in Greek and other foreign languages (Υποστηρικτικό υλικό)

• Curriculum of teaching Greek as second language and diagnostic tests (Αναλυτικό Πρόγραμμα-Διαγνωστικά Δοκίμια)

From the school year 2015/2016, all schools at all levels of education were required to implement the anti-racist policy of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth named "Code of Conduct against Racism and Guide for Managing and Recording Racist Incidents" (Κώδικας Συμπεριφοράς κατά του Ρατσισμού & Οδηγός Διαχείρισης και Καταγραφής Ρατσιστικών Περιστατικών). Based on the Ministry’s 2023 Annual Report, the policy conceptualizes racism in a broad manner, including all forms of discrimination. It includes definitions of basic concepts (e.g., racism, racist incident, discrimination, stereotypes, diversity, etc.), outlines the responsibilities and commitments expected by each member of the school community, and provides the steps to be followed by schools in order to deal with racist incidents in a practical manner. It provides schools and teachers with a detailed plan on how to deal with and prevent racist incidents. The Cyprus Pedagogical Institute organises several actions (e.g., workshops, conferences, seminars) every school year to empower and support teachers and schools in the implementation of the anti-racist policy. At the same time, the anti-racist policy website (Αντιρατσιστική Πολιτική – Οικοσελίδα) contains information regarding the implementation as well as additional educational material.

 (Topics related to social cohesion and equal opportunities are included in the subject of Health Education (Αγωγή Υγείας) at lower and upper-secondary education level. The 2023 Annual Report of the MESY states that Secondary General Education is designed to foster the holistic development of pupils, taking into account their potential at this stage of life and the challenges they are likely to encounter. Specifically, through the Health Education curriculum, pupils are encouraged to expand their value systems, integrate, and connect their knowledge acquisition with pertinent social issues, adopt healthy habits in their daily lives, and discover their potential, talents, skills, and interests. According to the same source, below there is an indicative list of activities implemented in the context of Health Education subject: c

• Organisation of experiential workshops on nutrition, sex education, emotional education, conflict resolution, prevention of violence and delinquency, prevention of bullying, life values, strengthening self-image and self-esteem.

• Activities related to the prevention of bullying and intervention activities in class.

• Activities fostering the acceptance and management of diversity-cross-culturalism, e.g., social and biological gender, combating xenophobia and intolerance. 

• Activities that foster the cultivation of active citizenship, e.g., joint workshops between pupils and people with disabilities to create functional objects.

• Cooperation with non-profit organisations such as the Mediterranean Institute for Gender Studies and the Cyprus Addiction Treatment Authority.

• Decentralised teacher training based on the Attainment and Adequacy Targets.

In addition, the continuing professional development (CPD) seminars (Προγράμματα – Σεμινάρια) for secondary education teachers offered by the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute  address issues, such as social and emotional intelligence, applying anti-racist policies in schools, human relations and crisis management, human rights education, integration of migrant students in schools, developing empathy skills and respect for diversity, conflict resolution, fighting prejudice and racism, etc. In regards to the policy "Code of Conduct against Racism and Guide for Managing and Recording Racist Incidents", there is a specialised section within the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute official website, where students, teachers and parents can find supportive material (Αντιρατσιστική Πολιτική - Υποστηρικτικό Υλικό) and relevant conferences and seminars (Αντιρατσιστική Πολιτική - Σεμινάρια – Συνέδρια).

In addition, as mentioned in section 6.3, a centralised programme aimed at supporting the Cypriot population living below the poverty line or being at risk of poverty and social exclusion is the Actions for School and Social Inclusion+ (DRA.S.E.+) programme.

In regards to programmes, projects and initiatives in the field of the vocational education and training, relevant information can be found in the section 4.4 of the Youth Wiki platform related to inclusive programmes for vulnerable youth.

Additional information is also available in the Eurydice report on Citizenship Education of 2017.

Programmes/projects/initiatives in the context of non-formal and informal learning 

One of the most important initiatives in Cyprus which promote equal opportunities for everyone in the island are also the State Institutes for Further Education  run by the MESY. The State Institutes function under the auspices of Secondary General Education all over Cyprus, and they aim at offering equal opportunities for learning as well as contributing to lifelong learning. Thousands of learners – pupils at all levels of education and adults – are participating in a variety of courses, offered both in urban and rural areas. The 2023 Annual Report of the MESY states that the State Institutes for Further Education actively promote social justice, by offering allowances and scholarships, approved by the Council of Ministers, based on socioeconomic criteria and academic achievement. During the school year 2022/2023, 46 State Institutes operated all over Cyprus with over 6 900 learners. The courses are addressed not only to young people, but to the whole population in Cyprus. In an attempt to provide equal opportunities through education to all citizens, a wide variety of lessons is offered, such as:

• Foreign Languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Turkish) up to level B1 or B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

• Greek to non-native Greek speakers

• Accounting at all levels

• Remedial lessons for lower and upper-secondary pupils

• Preparatory lessons for the Pancyprian Exams

• ICT classes

Since 2003, the State Institutes for Further Education have been offering free Greek lessons for the Turkish Cypriots and free Turkish lessons for the Greek Cypriots in an attempt to create communication bridges between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.

Furthermore, MESY’s 2023 Annual Report states that the Committee of Health Education and Citizenship (Συντονιστική Επιτροπή Αγωγής Υγείας και Πολιτότητας) funds non-school-related actions to support pupils belonging to vulnerable groups. The Programme operates since 2012 and is part of the commitment of the Ministry of Interior regarding the National Addiction Strategy 2021-2028 (Εθνική Στρατηγική για την Αντιμετώπιση της Εξάρτησης 2021- 2028).The Committee identifies and supports students who belong to vulnerable population groups (i.e., delinquent behaviour, use of alcohol or illegal substances, smoking, families with extremely difficult economic conditions or with severe dysfunction - violence in the family, serious health problems of another member or of the child himself, residence in the Children's Home, a family member in prison, unemployment, alcoholism and so on.), to be engaged in creative employment activities which they choose themselves in the community, in non-school settings every year. The actions aim at contributing towards the essential support (learning, emotional, self- and social self-empowerment, highlighting and fostering talent, developing a safe life and so on.) of pupils who belong to vulnerable population groups. During the school year 2022/2023, 787 actions were funded under this Programme.

As for other initiatives organised in the context of non-formal and informal learning, the Youth Board of Cyprus organizes several initiatives and informative campaigns (e.g., "You still agree, right?" «Εξακολουθείς να συμφωνείς, σωστά;») on various social issues concerning youth, such as hate speech, racism, intolerance, prejudice, stereotypes, xenophobia, homophobia, etc. 

In addition, another inclusive programme in Cyprus in the context of non-formal, informal learning and youth work is the "Youth Initiatives Project” of the Youth Board of Cyprus aiming to grant activities organised by young people and youth organisations so that young people can have an active role in cultural, sport, political and social activities in Cyprus. For more information, please also visit section 4.7.