The University of Cyprus finds itself at the centre of controversy as its proposed budget raised eyebrows in the House Education Committee.With an initial figure of \u20ac188.4 million deemed unrealistic and a supplementary budget of \u20ac22 million anticipated, concerns mount over the university\u2019s financial sustainability amid projected deficits of \u20ac31.2 million and \u20ac36.6 million for 2025 and 2026, respectively. MPs across the political spectrum voice their unease, spotlighting issues ranging from excessive cleaning costs to the exploitation of student housing by external contractors, and the alleged politicisation within the academia.Independent MP, Andreas Themistocleous, commented on the \u20ac2 million cleaning expenses, sarcastically asking, \u201cDo you have samurais fighting snakes?\u201dDIKO MP, Alekos Tryfonides, noted that contractors are building apartment blocks around the institution to rent rooms to students at exorbitant rates, while allegedly using bribes to block the processes for the construction of dormitories.AKEL MP, Christos Christofides, spoke of a professor\u2019s repeated persecution due to political beliefs by the Philosophy department, highlighting that the professor was vindicated by the Senate a week ago. He also criticised the fact that the dormitories housing former students of the Higher Hotel Institute (AXIK) which has relocated to Paphos, remain unused.There were also mentions of the university\u2019s requests for \u20ac800,000 for travel expenses, \u20ac970,000 for rentals, the doubling of legal expenses from approximately \u20ac55,000 last year to \u20ac119,000 this year, and the annual \u20ac10 million for the Cyprus Cancer Research Institute.The Vice-Rector for International Relations, Economics, and Administration, Ioannis Giapintzakis, responded to the accusations: \u201cAt the University of Cyprus, we do not all steal together, as it was said. We do not serve Turks. There are no political persecutions.\u201dRegarding the budget, he stated that there are external factors imposed on the institution\u2019s finances. \u201cThe cost-of-living allowance is increasing, inflation and surcharges are increasing. The university is now required to pay \u20ac10 million for the special pension fund. These are external factors that did not arise from the university. The increase in operational expenses, such as electricity, cleaning, and others, is because new building facilities of several thousand square meters will become operational within 2024.\u201cWe are trying to cover the university\u2019s fixed needs. We aim to secure funding to pay the existing staff and cover operational expenses. We have reduced administrative expenses. In terms of capital expenses, apart from funds from loans, the institution has to make other constructions compared to previous years,\u201d he added.He mentioned that maintenance of building facilities is expected to be 3% of the construction cost per year. Millions have been spent on university buildings, but these expenses are kept very low. He expressed concern that this might cost them in the long run. The Medical School has cost over \u20ac25 million to date, but there was no provision for this in the budget over the years.\u201cThere are no items in which we have put additional funding beyond what we really need to cover the basic needs of the university,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cThe university\u2019s own revenues are exhausted. Why? Because they have been utilised over the years in developments.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The University of Cyprus is facing controversy over its proposed budget. Concerns have been raised about the university’s financial sustainability due to projected deficits in the coming years. MPs have highlighted issues such as excessive cleaning costs, exploitation of student housing by external contractors, and alleged politicisation within the academia. The university has requested funds for travel expenses, rentals, legal expenses, and the Cyprus Cancer Research Institute. The Vice-Rector for International Relations, Economics, and Administration defended the budget, stating that external factors and increased operational expenses have impacted the institution’s finances. He also expressed concern about the low provision for maintenance of building facilities and the lack of budget for the Medical School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[671,312,778,695,279,3,405,553,304,831,67,187,148,130,433,114,832],"class_list":["post-3015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-akel","tag-apartment","tag-bribes","tag-cancer","tag-comment","tag-cyprus","tag-education","tag-electricity","tag-funding","tag-housing-crisis","tag-inflation","tag-international","tag-local","tag-paphos","tag-school","tag-top-news","tag-university-of-cyprus"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n