Left AKEL party proposes the abolition of the Social Support Fund within three months from the date the law comes into force, through the submission of a relevant Bill to the House of Representatives. The Bill is co signed by MP Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis and MP Alexandra Attalides. The party’s General Secretary, Stefanos Stefanou, stated that in practice it has been proven that the agency creates conditions of institutional entanglement.
Speaking at a press conference attended by AKEL MP and member of the Education Committee Christos Christofias, EDON General Secretary Seviros Koullas, members of the Progressive movement and a parliamentary associate for education matters, the AKEL General Secretary also explained the party’s proposals for strengthening the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation.
Referring to the Bill for the abolition of the Agency, Stefanou said that the Agency will settle all its obligations towards financially disadvantaged students up to the date of its abolition. From that date onwards, the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation will assume ownership of every asset, right or claim acquired, as well as every debt or obligation towards financially disadvantaged students undertaken during the operation of the Agency.
Abolition, not reform
Stefanou explained that AKEL is calling for abolition rather than improvement of the Agency because it has been shown in practice that it inherently creates conditions of institutional entanglement. From the moment it operates within the Presidential Palace and is supported by donations from businessmen or companies that bid for and undertake public works, conditions are created for a peculiar relationship, as highlighted by the Audit Office in the special report it issued last November on the operation of the Agency. He added that the Christodoulides government not only ignored this report, while also attacking the Audit Office, but also stubbornly opposed efforts by the parliamentary majority to ensure transparency regarding the donors to the Agency’s fund.
He stressed that AKEL does not dismiss the contribution of the Agency. However, at a time when institutional entanglement and corruption are flourishing, society’s concerns must be taken seriously and addressed in practice, particularly in light of the flawed situation revealed with sound and image in the well known video.
Stefanou further noted that the entire philosophy underpinning the operation of the Agency downgrades student welfare to charity, whereas it should constitute comprehensive state policy with specific social criteria to meet contemporary needs and governed by clear procedures to ensure transparency and meritocracy.
Transfer of reserves to the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation
He stated that the decision to transfer the Agency’s reserves to the fund of the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation is based on the Foundation’s social character, the promotion of the younger generation’s right to education, and its longstanding support for students and their families. Student welfare, he said, must be institutionally strengthened and should cover far more students than it does today.
Mr Stefanou pointed out that for almost a year the Foundation has remained without leadership, as its former President resigned and the government has yet to appoint a replacement. He said he does not know whether this is because President Christodoulides cannot find someone from his so called black notebook, or whether it reflects a downgrading of student welfare and scholarships by the government.
AKEL’s proposals for the Scholarships Foundation
AKEL, Mr Stefanou said, is calling for the appointment of a new President of the Foundation, a substantial increase in its annual budget, the introduction of new scholarship programmes based on social criteria, and the expansion of the scope of the Foundation’s programmes so that they include categories of citizens currently excluded under the existing regulatory framework.
Cuts to state student welfare
On state student welfare, the AKEL General Secretary said that according to data from the Ministry of Finance, funding has been reduced from €70 million in 2013 to €48 million today. The Anastasiades government gradually cut a total of €19.2 million, while the Christodoulides government has cut a further €2.8 million.
He said that the pretext for these cuts was the low utilisation rate of the budget in previous years, which occurred because the criteria exclude thousands of financially disadvantaged students. According to Ministry of Finance data, from 2015 to today, each year between 2,000 and 4,000 applicants for student allowances are rejected because they do not meet the criteria.
AKEL’s demands on student welfare
AKEL is calling on the government for a substantial increase in the student welfare budget and for a revision of income and asset criteria for student grants and allowances, based on updated data and taking into account inflation and the Consumer Price Index over the past decade.
The party also calls for an increase in the amounts granted so that they reflect current needs in housing, basic necessities and overall student living costs, as well as for full utilisation of the student welfare budget after payment of student grants, through the provision of student allowances. Mr Stefanou recalled that in the past two years, a relevant amendment submitted by AKEL during the adoption of the state budget has unfortunately been rejected by a parliamentary majority.
Student welfare, a state obligation
Stefanou stated that the government must assume its responsibilities and place high priority on supporting young people’s access to higher education. Student welfare, he said, is an institutional obligation of the state, not charity exchanged for votes or other benefits. It is a structural element of a state that cares for its citizens and their wellbeing, and a matter of equal opportunities in education and living conditions.
Asked whether AKEL continues to demand the publication of the Agency’s donors, Stefanou said that the party will continue to insist that donations to the Agency be made public.
In response to another question on contributions to the Foundation, he explained that there is already a possibility for such contributions through specific procedures and with transparency, and that this could be expanded through a regulatory framework, provided there is the necessary political will. He said that the problem is the apparent lack of political will on the part of the government to fully utilise existing possibilities to support a very important segment of the population, namely students and their families.
Need for new scholarship programmes
Replying to a question on the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation, Stefanou said that it currently operates four scholarship programmes. The first concerns excellence, the second and third combine excellence with certain social criteria, and the fourth αφορά technical education. AKEL believes that new programmes should be created with an emphasis on socio economic criteria, in order to support students in need who do not meet the existing criteria.
When it was noted that this could take a long time, Stefanou said that this is why AKEL proposed a three month transitional period.
Asked whether this approach would better address the peculiar relationship, lack of transparency or potential entanglement between donors involved in public works and the government, Stefanou said that the issue can certainly be addressed more effectively by transferring the entire process to an institution whose role is to award scholarships, which operates under regulations, transparency and criteria, and does not operate from within the Presidential Palace. He referred to lobbyists who, without declaring themselves as such, become involved in processes relating to donations.
He clarified that AKEL is not claiming that those who donated to the Agency and were awarded public works are involved in anything suspicious. However, at a time when Cyprus has a poor international reputation and public opinion is highly sensitive to institutional entanglement and corruption, such a peculiar relationship fuels suspicion.
AKEL, he concluded, is working to strengthen the institutional framework for addressing institutional entanglement. However, he stressed that without the corresponding political will, such phenomena will not be easily addressed, particularly given that the President of the Republic has assumed no political responsibility for what society has repeatedly seen in the video, with sound and image.