# Schooling in Cyprus as an International Student



## imoh (Feb 17, 2013)

Looking at the window through my airplane window, I wondered what Cyprus held for me. I was excited yet very anxious. Going from the airport to the University (Cyprus International University), in the school shuttle, I became more anxious when other new students expressed negative statements and opinions given to them by old students amongst which were: the high cost of living, language barrier and minimum work opportunities.

But weeks after arrival, I am beginning to have a mindset repositioning, Cyprus is not such a bad place afterall, the citizens are nice and warm, having respect for each other and foreigners especially blacks (i'm black). The simplistic way of life in Cyprus makes living less stressful and enjoyable, mostly everyone is trustworthy and honest.

I am glad I chose here for my Masters programme and I hope that work opportunities will open up in due time. (I teach maths and Engish).


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

We could have told you that!!! (Well most of us!)

Mind you, you might find a language barrier if you have a mindset repositioning. I'd have just changed my mind.

Good luck to you.

Pete


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

imoh said:


> Looking at the window through my airplane window, I wondered what Cyprus held for me. I was excited yet very anxious. Going from the airport to the University (Cyprus International University), in the school shuttle, I became more anxious when other new students expressed negative statements and opinions given to them by old students amongst which were: the high cost of living, language barrier and minimum work opportunities.
> 
> But weeks after arrival, I am beginning to have a mindset repositioning, Cyprus is not such a bad place afterall, the citizens are nice and warm, having respect for each other and foreigners especially blacks (i'm black). The simplistic way of life in Cyprus makes living less stressful and enjoyable, mostly everyone is trustworthy and honest.
> 
> I am glad I chose here for my Masters programme and I hope that work opportunities will open up in due time. (I teach maths and Engish).


Many of the anxieties that you mentioned are shared by international students coming to the free part of the Republic of Cyprus too. I'd be interested to hear of why you chose to study in the occupied part of Cyprus and whether the facilities are living up to expectations (it seems to me that the authorities in the so called TRNC have invested more in state of the art campus facilities than those here in the South).


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

I did not know anything of this University and so I checked out it's web site.

I am absolutely disgusted with it's potted history of Cyprus which is sanitised by completely ignoring the Turkish invasion in 1974. It says, "After years of hardship and struggle, The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is finally declared in 1983." without reference as to how the Turkish Republic was created.

It does not state that the TRNC is only recognised by Turkey and that an area between the north and south is controlled by the UN peacekeeping force.

This gives a false impression to anyone unfamiliar with the history.

I shall be even more annoyed if I find out this University has had EU taxpayers money poured into it like other schools and roads in North Cyprus which is not within the EU.

Pete


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

The issue of Universities and schools in the so called TRNC is a thorny one as international conventions recognise education as a fundamental human right that should not be blocked by 'politics'. As far as I know the funding for the HE sector is private and Turkish state - any EU funds and assistance being blocked from the Republic. It would be interesting to hear imoh's impressions of how programmes of study were presented during recruitment-as many won't be recognised internationally. Having noted that, however, I was suprised to see collaborations on the Cyprus International University website for Wolverhampton University.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

My comments were based on the large signs I have seen in the North on the road into Kyrenia and at a school detailing the amount of funding supplied by the EU.

Pete


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

PeteandSylv said:


> My comments were based on the large signs I have seen in the North on the road into Kyrenia and at a school detailing the amount of funding supplied by the EU.
> 
> Pete


Yes the EU has funded quite a lot of infrastructural improvements in the north as technically it is part of the EU and Turkish Cypriots have the same rights as other EU citizens. In the period from 2006 until 2011 some 259 million euros were spent on EU funded projects in the occupied territories and the region now recieves an annual EU allocation of 28 million. The HE sector, however, as far as I know has not benefitted from these funds but primary and secondary schools have.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Once again the process of logic in the EU astounds me. I don't understand how Turkish Cypriots in the North can have the same rights as other EU citizens. They do not have citizenship of a country that is in the EU.

But the EU funding of an illegally invaded country condemned by the UN and not recognised by anyone but the invading country is absurd. This actually means that taxpayers in the ROC are contributing to a fund to support part of their invaded country while having to go and beg for money from the EU because they are bankrupt. Meanwhile Turkey in its prosperous state can relax and accept these funds from the EU for the country they invaded while the EU refuses to process their membership application until a settlement is reached over their invasion.

Utter madness.

Pete


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

PeteandSylv said:


> Once again the process of logic in the EU astounds me. I don't understand how Turkish Cypriots in the North can have the same rights as other EU citizens. They do not have citizenship of a country that is in the EU.
> 
> But the EU funding of an illegally invaded country condemned by the UN and not recognised by anyone but the invading country is absurd. This actually means that taxpayers in the ROC are contributing to a fund to support part of their invaded country while having to go and beg for money from the EU because they are bankrupt. Meanwhile Turkey in its prosperous state can relax and accept these funds from the EU for the country they invaded while the EU refuses to process their membership application until a settlement is reached over their invasion.
> 
> ...


I agree that the accession of Cyprus to the EU should not have been allowed until the conflict had been resolved and the conditions of a settlement ironed out. As it stands, however, the Turkish Cypriots ARE EU citizens and are citizens of the RoC which has an obligation to exercise those rights wherever possible. In fact the rights of the Turkish Cypriots were written into the 1960 constitution which turned out to be unworkable (and it was the flagrant abuses of those rights in the 60's that led to the Green line /UNFCYP and the coup d'etat by Greece of Cypriot Sovereignty that led to the Turkish invasion). The resolution will come eventually as the EU machine rolls on - even if it becomes a defacto canton of Turkey. Turkey itself has been in receipt of EU funding from at least 1996. Last year it received 860 million euros of EU funding as part of the pre-accession assistance. It is such a vast economy, I think its accession is inevitable to the European Union adventure - and perhaps the economic impetus and a reconciliation in Cyprus will allow a settlement in the future which allows the island to reach its full potential - it has been hamstrung for so long. Back to the original posting, education should be a pivotal way forward for that to happen, and welcoming international students here to study, to my mind is a crucial part of fostering acceptance and breaking down barriers. Imoh seems to be having a good experience of that happening. My involvement with similar environments in the south suggests that the education system here is still rife with xenophobia and could learn lessons from what is happening in the occupied areas.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

This is an aspect which is complete news to me.

If Turkish Cypriots in the TRNC are citizens of the ROC:
1. Do they vote for ROC elections?
2. Are they entitled to ROC healthcare and any other benefits?
3. Are they citizens of TRNC or Turkey as well?
4. Do they have full rights of the citizens of TRNC and Turkey?

With regard to the EU funding in TRNC, I see your logic in their view that it is part of Cyprus and therefore in the EU. But in that case:
1. Why does the funding not go to the ROC for use in the TRNC?
2. How does the EU write a cheque to a state which they have declared as illegal?
3. Why is the EU handing out pre-accession money to Turkey before an accession date is even considered let alone agreed?

As far as education in the ROC is concerned, the little contact I have had with it indicates that in general it is running 50 - 80 years behind the times. Also teachers are grossly overpaid at the start of their careers in particular, management and accountability is lacking and any kind of targets of achievement are vague. Not surprisingly I would level these criticisms at most parts of the administration here that I have had experience of.

Pete


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

PeteandSylv said:


> This is an aspect which is complete news to me.
> 
> If Turkish Cypriots in the TRNC are citizens of the ROC:
> 1. Do they vote for ROC elections?
> ...


Yes to one to four as citizens of RoC Turkish Cypriots are entitled to the same rights as any other Cypriot Citizen. Of course the exercising of those rights has been made difficult/impossible at times (pretty much since the outbreak of inter communal violence and the phenomenon of enclaving in the 60s, the population exchanges following the invasion of 1974 and the subsequent sealing of the Green line - but things have improved since 2003 when the crossing points started to open up which made access to schools, hospitals, healthcare and other services much easier (for those not wishing to avail themselves of parallel services set up by the so called TRNC).

With regard to the funding, I think it is paid under special arrangements to a branch office of the commission. Some of the funds are paid directly to RoC for communal projects such as improvements to drainage, water and other service infrastructures that cross over into the occupied areas.

Turkey is considered a founding member of the Council of Europe (1949) one of the important precursor organisations to the EC and subsequent union. Its accession - as chapters are open for accession and it is assumed that they will eventually be completed, the many millions of euros that I mentioned in the last post have been pumped in to help Turkey achieve the benchmarks. Most commentators are predicting accession by 2021 - but it has also been an associate member of the EU for many years. The Cyprus problem is of course a major impediment to many of these chapters - the recent Annan Plan that many hoped would settle the problem was rejected by the RoC and so Cyprus entered the EU with some of its territory (and hence the territory of Europe) under military occupation. As I said before this was a big mistake - as there is now no urgency for a settlement and new factors emerge to bicker over such as the Oil and Gas.

Education reforms, such as teaching a more balanced view of the Cyprus problem, rather than the 'official' perspective which (in my view) blames absolutely everyone apart from the RoC which is always presented as victim to cold war conspiracy theories, have also been blocked - in this way bigoted and warped views get passed on from one generation to the other which only serves to entrench the situation and make a settlement further away. I've said in earlier posts that eventually access to open information via the internet will make the propaganda game that both sides have been playing far more difficult and this hopefully will lead to reconciliation and a solution, but I think we're are going to have to wait for another generation or two before that can happen. 

One thing I would say is that the Cyprus problem is very real and complex and during its relatively short existence as an independent Republic the peoples of this island have suffered irrespective of their ethnicity. Sensitivities to this suffering still run very high and should at all times be respected. I have learned as an outsider, not to engage too much with discussion of it, but I do strongly believe that the role of educators is to foster powers of critical analysis that will be needed to encourage the spirit or reconciliation needed to complete the healing process.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

This thread has been moved to the main discussion forum. 
The Mouflon is for socialising, general chit chat.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Kimonas,

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed reply.

Pete


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