The Educational Reform that Threatens Equality of School Leaving Certificates between private and public schools in Cyprus. The abolition of 'equivalence' raises constitutional questions and creates new inequalities in access to public education.
The recent proposal by the Ministry of Education to amend the "Private Schools Law of 2019" has caused intense concern in the educational and legal community. At the heart of the debate is the provision to abolish the "equivalence" of private school leaving certificates with those of public schools, and this raises serious issues of constitutionality and equality.
'Equivalence' refers to the recognition of a qualification as valid and acceptable by the state. Equivalence, however, implies full assimilation of the qualification with that of public schools, with all the legal consequences that this entails, such as the possibility of appointment to the public service. The abolition of equivalence means that private school graduates will not be able to use their school leaving certificate as equivalent for the purposes of recruitment to the public service, unless there is a specific provision to that effect.
The proposed regulation may conflict with fundamental constitutional principles such as Article 28 – Principle of Equality, Article 20 – Right to Education, and the Principle of Proportionality.
Differentiating the legal value of school leaving certificates without objective and adequately justified criteria may constitute unequal treatment to the detriment of private school graduates.
If the regulation is implemented, it will have significant consequences as it will exclude graduates of private schools of "similar type" school leaving certificates from appointments in the public sector. This will create social divisions and a sense of injustice among graduates, while at the same time downgrading private education as an alternative option.
The case of Greek candidates who obtained school leaving certificates in Greece is indicative of the problematic nature of the proposal. Their qualifications are recognized through equivalence and correspondence procedures by the competent authorities (e.g., KY.S.A.T.S.). If Cyprus abolishes equivalence only for private schools within its territory, but continues to recognize school leaving certificates from private schools abroad, this creates a contradictory and possibly unconstitutional situation. For example, a Greek graduate with a school leaving certificate obtained from a private school in Greece can be appointed to the Cypriot public service, while a Cypriot graduate, with a 'similar type' private school leaving certificate obtained in Cyprus, cannot.
The proposal also includes reducing the number of hours of Modern Greek language instruction in private primary schools to six hours per week. Although presented as a technical adjustment, it may have significant implications, e.g., in the case of admission to public universities, participation in public competitions, equal access to professional opportunities, etc.
I firmly believe that there may be alternative approaches to avoiding inequalities, which the Ministry of Education should consider, such as uniform examination mechanisms for all students, special examinations for access to public education, an explicit provision that equivalence is sufficient for specific uses, and/or harmonization of the criteria for recognizing foreign qualifications with those of private schools in Cyprus.
Although the Ministry's proposal aims at transparency and comparability, it may create new inequalities and unjustifiably restrict the rights of private school graduates. The case of Greek candidates and the reduction in teaching hours for Modern Greek highlight the need for a unified policy that ensures equal opportunities for all, regardless of school type or place of study.
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