Newsroom
The Cyprus State Scholarship Foundation continues to process applications that date back to 2019, according to its president, while facing staff shortages and missing resources following the transfer of responsibilities from the abolished Independent Social Support Body.
Foundation president Aimilios Solomou told the House Education Committee on Tuesday that the transfer of duties took place on 14 July 2026. The corresponding budget, resources and staff have not followed, he said. The Foundation also lacks the software the former body used free of charge to manage financial-support applications. A replacement system is scheduled for completion only in June 2027, a timetable that officials expect will prolong waiting times for students and their families.
Secretary Yiannis Christou told the same session that two temporary staff members are due to start within the next ten days. Committee chairman Chrysanthos Savvides of DIKO later stated that the Foundation inherited roughly 3,500 overdue cases and has cleared about 1,100 of them in the past two months. He added that families often wait up to a year and a half for payments and that some students have abandoned their studies as a result. Documents are sometimes lost, forcing applicants to resubmit paperwork two or three times. Savvides said the Foundation needs another four permanent posts and that available funding stands at €10 million against an estimated requirement of €18 million, of which €7 million has already been spent.
DISY MP Giorgos Karoullas, who requested the discussion, called for a full overhaul guided by a detailed Audit Office report. He said the Finance Ministry has so far released €10 million and was asked for a further €3 million. Karoullas urged the ministry to release funds on schedule, introduce stricter scoring checks, install a modern digital platform and provide adequate personnel. He also argued that daily scholarship rates of €8.20 for undergraduates and €10.92 for postgraduates no longer match living costs and should rise automatically with inflation. His party had preferred the social-support body to remain independent and be modernised in place rather than absorbed.
AKEL MP Christos Christofides described the situation as severe for thousands of students and parents. He said first-year students from the previous academic year will not learn whether they have been awarded a scholarship until January or February 2027, while final instalments routinely arrive months after graduation. The Foundation currently employs eight people, down from twelve, and relies on a limited budget. Christofides added that roughly €1 million belonging to the former body has yet to reach the Foundation and suggested the delay may stem from residual caution at the Presidential Palace after earlier controversies surrounding the body.
Odysseas Michaelides of Alma – Citizens for Cyprus said the state has an obligation to ensure both high-achieving and financially vulnerable students can complete their studies. He described the Foundation as having received the former body’s workload without the accompanying staff or funds, a situation he called unacceptable.
The Education Committee asked the Foundation’s new board to present a clear reform timetable based on the Audit Office findings and to report progress back to the House.
