At the center of the discussion of the Education Committee of the Parliament, which took place on Thursday, was the claim of student sponsorship and student allowance by large families with four or more children, which are excluded today due to exceeding the income and property criteria.
During the debate, the positions of the MPs were strong for the removal of the income and property criteria for student grants for families with many children, while requests for an overall review of the system were also recorded.
The members of the Commission called for a radical revision of the framework, in order to effectively strengthen large families and to deal with the phenomenon of low birth rates.
The Chairman of the Parliament's Education Committee, Pavlos Mylonas, criticized the executive branch, asking to stop invoking unconstitutionality as a pretext for inaction.
"They give us excuses every time. It is time for the system, the state and the parties to demonstrate in practice their support for large families, especially now that they are talking about low birth rates. The behavior of the executive branch over time towards large families is laughable to the point of ridiculous, he said.
DISY Member of Parliament, Prodromos Alabritis, emphasized the need to update the income limits and the amounts of the student sponsorship, which have been determined for many years.
"We are in favor of supporting large families, but a total revision of the system is required. The criteria and amounts should be changed to cover more families. We will insist as a Democratic Alarm on this revision", he noted.
ELAM Member of Parliament, Sotiris Ioannou, pointed out that the proposal submitted by his party aims to remove income and property restrictions for large families.
"We have a comprehensive policy for student sponsorship. It has been our commitment since 2024 to stop this injustice. As the child benefit was achieved, we expect it to be achieved in the student sponsorship as well. It is one of our biggest priorities," he said.
The independent Member of Parliament, Andreas Themistokleous, raised the issue of tax injustice, underlining that the concept of family income must be reviewed so that there is equality.
"If the concept of family income is not restored, tax reform will not be fair. A couple with two incomes of 21,000 euros pays no tax, while another with one worker on 42,000 is heavily taxed. The criteria must be redefined," he noted.
MIEKs are also on the table
Earlier, before the Education Committee, the issue of the operation of the Post-High School Institutes of Vocational Education and Training (MIEK) was raised, with the aim of resolving institutional and work pending issues and ensuring their sustainability.
Mr. Mylonas described MIEK as a "blessing for Cypriot society", stressing that they offer substantial opportunities for professional rehabilitation to graduates of technical schools.
"Cyprus was financed by the European Union for the creation of MIEK. They give young people two years of training and certification so they can find work and contribute to the economy. But the state was late. Parliament pushed things forward and now we await legislation to recognize the value of graduates,” he said.
He blamed the executive power for a lack of coordination between the Ministries of Education, Finance and Public Administration, noting that Parliament is intervening to avoid new delays.
"They had reached the point three and a half years ago of wanting to abolish MIEK. Fortunately, Parliament prevented it. Now we have to support them in practice," he added.
The MP of DISY, Giorgos Karoulas, pointed out that the aim is to achieve the best learning results and the smooth completion of the procedures for the institutional recognition of MIEK.
“Always with the best learning outcomes for our children in mind, we look forward to the completion of the bill. The President of the Committee will determine the next session, so that we can proceed with the discussion and voting of the framework that will ensure the continuation and upgrading of the MIEKs", he said.
