Public, community and private Pre-Primary schools’ function in Cyprus.
Public Pre-Primary schools Public Pre-Primary schools are established and operated by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. Since September 2004, when free compulsory Pre-Primary education was introduced, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth undertakes all the expenses of the public Pre-Primary schools (salaries of teaching and other staff, educational equipment, building expenses, cleaning expenses, stationery, electricity, heating and other). Moreover, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth is responsible for the assessment and continuous training of the staff on current educational approaches.
The public Pre-Primary schools are graded as follows:
One teacher Schools with one class
Two teacher or two teacher enhanced Schools with two classes
Three teacher Schools or three teacher enhanced schools with three classes
Multi-teacher Schools with more than three classes
Community Pre-Primary schools The community Pre-Primary schools operate in accordance to the “Private School Law of 2019” and are subsidized by the Ministry, on an annual basis. The community Pre-Primary schools are founded by local authorities, Parents’ Associations of public pre-primary schools, Community Welfare Boards, Trade Unions, or Charity Boards. In these kind of schools, are mainly enrolled children aged 3 - 4 6/12 years. The majority of the Community Pre-Primary schools function together with the public Pre-Primary schools. Moreover, their functioning is regulated by the circulars which are sent by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth.
The school year in Community Pre-Primary schools starts on the 1st of September and ends on the 31st of August of the following year, as in public Pre-Primary schools. The operation of the community Pre-Primary schools can be extended by one month (July) during summer time and their timetable is extended until 14:45.
Private Pre-Primary schools Private Pre-Primary schools are established and regulated by the Private Schools Law of 2019. Any private school, in order to be able to operate requires the approval of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. All private schools are inspected and coordinated by the officers of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth.
