The great interest that the present Government has shown and will continue to show until its last day in power, for Education and for the further upgrading of CTEPAK was expressed by the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, while inaugurating tonight the workshops of the Department of Fine Arts, new classrooms and the administration offices of the CTEPAK in Limassol.
In his address at the inauguration ceremony, the President of the Republic said, among other things, that the budget of the projects he is inaugurating has exceeded 5 million euros and expressed confidence that these projects will contribute to increasing the quality of the education provided and improving the administrative services of the CTEPAK.
He added that the first project concerns the creation of laboratories of the University's Fine Arts Department at a total cost of 2 million 700 thousand euros, highlighting the large donation of the Leventis Foundation for this purpose.
The second project, he said, has a total budget of 3.1 million euros and involves the renovation and refurbishment of a two-storey listed building, as well as the construction of a new three-storey building. The renovated building, he said, mainly includes offices, while the new building includes six new classrooms.
The President underlined the great interest that the Government has shown and will continue to show until the last day of the handover of power, so that with the synergy of local governments and rectorial authorities "we can see how problems that, unfortunately, are created as a result of either bureaucratic structures or due to a narrow perception of what is beneficial, by a strict spirit or by some notions that are not consistent," he said.
Referring to a meeting he had with the administration of the CUT and the rectorial authorities before the inauguration ceremony, the President of the Republic said that "I heard what I have been passionately advocating since 1991, that the English language is essential to be introduced in universities because in this way it allows cooperation with other universities abroad. Through the action of the President and the rectorial authorities, the administration in general, the CUT has succeeded in establishing cooperation at European level with seven other universities. And the Rector asks himself and I sincerely ask myself. How is it possible to have an exchange of programmes when we insist that the only language you can speak is Greek? But the bigger question is, apart from the cooperation with the rest of the universities: can you tell me, when we invest or when the headquarters of big companies are transferred to Cyprus and they need the graduates of TEPAK ,is English necessary or not? How will they communicate? Are we going to force mega companies to learn Greek so that they can communicate with our graduates, our scientists? Because the high level of education provided cannot be ignored."
He added that under these conditions it creates impossibilities for even excellent scientists to work.
"I have been saying this since 1991 and despite the fact that I was distinguished for Greek-centric views. As Chairman of the Education Committee of the Parliament at the time, I insisted that English was by necessity a language that should be taught and at the same time Greek courses could be provided, in order for students to adapt to the terminology so that they would not be alienated from the Greek language," the President said.
Addressing MPs present, he called on them to examine the issue as soon as possible for the progress of both the University of Cyprus and the CUT, taking into account, he said, that there is also competition between private and public universities. But we should also give the resources to the state universities", the President noted, stressing that "I will take care in every way, as has always been my interest in the CUT, so that before the handover of power, final decisions will be taken on both the B' Technical and the old hospital, so that this problem can be overcome".
Referring to Berengaria, the President said that there is an amount in the state budget, adding, while addressing the management of the TEPAK that "if you proceed with the studies either for the campus or for the other facilities, sports, teaching etc., then easily the new government, with a supplementary budget, can cover any cost foreseen".
President Anastasiades also expressed his warm congratulations for the work carried out by the CTEPAK, which in just a few years has established itself at the highest levels of performance, expressing the conviction that what he said "will go to the ears of the hearing and this 'disability' that is observed will not continue because it is a 'disability'. I am a graduate of a Greek university and I know the difficulties I faced during my postgraduate studies and the difficulties I would have faced if I had not pursued postgraduate studies in speaking English.
He also referred to the great interest from multinational companies in Cyprus, noting that knowledge of English would make it easier for young scientists to enter the job market.
He also stressed that "without denying that it is the Greek language that has contributed to science, English is nevertheless considered necessary. And there is no problem that cannot be overcome.
Therefore, I appeal to the House of Representatives to move forward so that a pending issue that has existed for years can be overcome."
Finally, President Anastasiades said that "I was interested to hear about the new maritime science department, it is something that was missing and will contribute significantly. Suffice it to mention that Cyprus is 3rd in ship management in Europe and 11th in the world. Therefore it is an absolutely essential educational service that will be offered to our young people and I am sure that the new Government, whoever it is, will be on the side of the country's education."
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Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source[/URL]Cyprus Times[/SIZE][/B]
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