On the occasion of the Decision of the Council of Ministers for the abolition of tuition fees for children attending public kindergartens aged3 years to 4 years and 5 months, which was announced by the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth (Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth) Ms. Athena Michaelidou On 27/08/2025, the Cyprus Private Early Childhood Education Association (SIPEC) issues the following announcement:
The Cyprus Association of Private Early Childhood Education (SIPEC) expresses its disappointment and concern in relation to the plans of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MoE) for early childhood education.
Without prior elementary consultation or even informing the directly affected organized groups, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth announced the Decision of the Council of Ministers for the abolition of tuition fees for children attending public kindergartens aged3 years to 4 years and 5 months, leaving private kindergartens and kindergartens, once again, exposed and before the fait accompli.
In our humble opinion, this approach is not appropriate for a modern, pluralistic, European state and we are particularly sorry when this approach is implemented by the Ministry responsible for the education of the future citizens of this country.
In addition, this Decision was taken without an impact assessment on how it will affect private early childhood education in order to take compensatory measures.
This intervention distorts the pre-school education sector to the detriment of the private sector once again, with the viability of private kindergartens and kindergartens now considered uncertain.
It is noted that the Ministry of Education provides additional incentives for attracting younger children to public kindergartens, without having the appropriate infrastructure or staff.
In order to meet the needs that arise, it proceeds to the receipt and installation of additional pre-prepared (detachable) classrooms that do not meet the standards for the safety and health of children and that do not have basic health facilities.
It should be noted that the installation of prefabricated classrooms in the courtyard area of public schools results in a significant reduction in square meters for children’s outdoor activities, at the same time that private kindergartens and kindergartens are subject to strict inspections and notices for the prohibition of their operation for trivial issues.
In addition, for the staffing of the additional departments that will be created, it is estimated that personnel who currently work in the private sector will be recruited in the public sector, in a particularly difficult period for finding personnel and for which SIPEC has made representations, submitting its documented positions, opinions and suggestions to the competent Authorities, without, however, any response and result.
As a result, private nurseries and kindergartens will now be understaffed and will be forced to close initial departments, with the risk of gradually being led to their permanent closure.
We note with regret that the Ministry of Education, holding the dominant position, authority and responsibilities, proceeds to actions that cause unfair competition to the detriment of private kindergartens and kindergartens that offer high quality services in extended hours and in facilities that are inspected by at least seven different state services on a systematic basis literally for every aspect of their operation (indoor and outdoor spaces, games, yard and playground, sanitary facilities, etc.).
SIPEK clarifies that it is not opposed to facilitating children and their parents to access structures that provide quality early childhood care and education services, but this should be done in an equal and not unbalanced way, ensuring in any case the right of parents to choose the kindergarten or kindergarten where their children will attend without distortions and obstacles.
It is surprising why (while the competent authorities are aware of it and it has been pointed out to them repeatedly), measures are not being taken to create infrastructure for the care of infants and children up to the age of3 to support this huge need of parents, but measures are being promoted that target an age group that has been served for years by the private sector without any problem.
It is also worth wondering why the specific time period was chosen for the announcement of this Decision, a few days before the start of the new school year and which has already resulted in the flight of children from private kindergartens and kindergartens to public ones, creating serious problems and upheavals in the planning and sustainability of private kindergartens and kindergartens.
The continuation of the Ministry of Education’s approach to “double standards” and the separation of public and private education, always at the expense of private education as if it were not part of the education system, with the ensuing discrimination against children attending the private sector and their parents, should finally stop.
SIPEK calls on the Minister of Education to immediately revise the Ministry of Education’s plans for early childhood education and to engage in an honest dialogue with full transparency, even the ultimate one. In addition, it calls on the Minister to abandon the approach of satisfying specific trade union interests of the public sector at the expense of pre-school education and education in general.
Finally, for the issue that has arisen and for the inaction in relation to the requests and suggestions of SIPEK for the solution of the problems of pre-school education, the Association will soon convene an extraordinary General Assembly of its Members for decision-making and planning of its next actions, not excluding the taking of dynamic measures.
