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Reform Support

Supporting reforms to improve the quality of education and training systems and ensure equal access to it

Funding Programme
Year
  • 2021

Improve implementation of policies to address student disengagement and early school leaving in Cyprus

The Project supported the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth of Cyprus to make informed choices between various alternatives for implementing reforms which address early school leaving (ESL) and student disengagement. The Project put forward a governance framework and a roadmap for the effective implementation of the identified reforms.

Context

The project provided Cyprus with support to address the problem of ESL and school disengagement, recognising that an unskilled and low achieving young labour force poses risks to the country’s economy and sustainable growth. EU countries have committed themselves to reducing the average share of early school leavers to less than 9% by 2030. Reducing ESL is also part of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDG 4 - Quality education).

Building on the concrete policy measures proposed during the project Phase I), the current project provided further support regarding the processes and resources needed to implement the proposed reforms.

Support delivered

The main activities carried out during the Project were:

  • Mapping phase including desk research examining evidence on Cypriot national education policy reforms; targeted interviews with key actors and field research in Cypriot schools; case studies on relevant EU practices, including three online peer exchange activities and a study visit.
  • Action planning phase comprising the development of a governance framework and implementation roadmap supported by in-person stakeholder workshops in Cyprus.

Engagement phase including workshops to discuss the governance framework, possible legislative changes and the implementation roadmap, as well as a final conference in Cyprus to disseminate the project results.

Results achieved

The project supported Cyprus’ authorities for a successful and sustainable implementation of the policy measures proposed in Phase I. The results achieved included a governance framework to coordinate the different actors in their efforts to address students’ disengagement and ESL in Cyprus and an implementation roadmap with concrete steps and timeline, co-created with a wide range of actors involved in the implementation of the reforms (such as school leaders and teacher trade unions, among others). In addition, the project provided recommendations for regulatory changes to facilitate the implementation of the proposed policy measures. Over the longer-term, it is expected that the results of the project will contribute to

  • creating a culture of cooperation among the actors involved in the educational process, at different levels;
  • lifting barriers to educational innovations and reforms taking place in the educational system in Cyprus;

reducing the percentage of low-achieving and demotivated students, as well as the early school leavers.

More about the project

You can read the documents related to the project here: